



















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Class. Elk*? 


Copyright N° I I to 


COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 















































































BUILDING A SKYSCRAPER 














GREAT CITIES OF THE 
UNITED STATES 


HISTORICAL, DESCRIPTIVE, COMMERCIAL 

INDUSTRIAL 


BY 

GERTRUDE VAN DUYN SOUTHWORTH 

it 

AUTHOR OF "BUILDERS OF OUR COUNTRY,” BOOKS I AND II 
"THE STORY OF THE EMPIRE STATE,” AND 
"A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY” 

AND 

STEPHEN ELLIOTT KRAMER 

r 

ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, WASHINGTON, D.C„ 




IROQUOIS PUBLISHING COMPANY, Inc. 

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK 




J 7 6 9 
.9 7S4- 

/f/6 


COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY 

GERTRUDE VAN DUYN SOUTHWORTH AND 
STEPHEN ELLIOTT KRAMER 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
316.3 



V 


MAR 21 1916 


© Cl. A 4 2 7 3 2 8 

■ I ' 





Just as the history of a country is largely the history 
of its great men, so the geography of a country is largely 
the story of its great cities. 

How much more easily history is grasped and remem¬ 
bered when grouped around attractive biographies. With 
great cities as the centers of geography-study, what is 
generally considered a dry, matter-of-fact subject can be 
made to attract, to inspire, and to fix the things which 
should be remembered. 

This book, " Great Cities of the United States,” in¬ 
cludes the ten largest cities of this country, together with 
San Francisco, New Orleans, and Washington. In it the 
important facts of our country’s geography have been grouped 
around these thirteen cities. The story of Chicago includes 
the story of farming in the Middle West, of the great ore 
industry on and around the Great Lakes, and of the varied 
means of transportation. Cotton, sugar, and location are 
shown to account largely for the greatness of New Or¬ 
leans. In a similar way, the stories of the other cities 
sum up the important geography of our country. 

Enough of the history of each city is given to show its 
growth and development. The distinctive points of inter¬ 
est are described so that one feels acquainted with the 
things which attract the sight-seer. The commercial and 
industrial features are made to stand out as the logical 


VI 


GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


sequence of fortunate location for manufacturing, for 
securing raw materials, for markets, and for convenient 
means of transportation. 

In order to make uniformly fair comparisons, local 
statistics have been ignored and all data have been taken 
from the latest government reports. 

The authors wish to express their sincere appreciation 
to the historical societies, to the chambers of commerce, 
to those in the various cities who have furnished material 
and reviewed the manuscript, and to all others who have 
rendered assistance. 

It is hoped that by the use of this book our country, 
in all its greatness, will mean more and will appeal more 
to the boys and girls of America than ever before. 

To the publishers of Allen’s " Geographical and Indus¬ 
trial Studies: United States” we are indebted for the use 
of the map appearing at the end of the text. 


TIIE AUTHORS 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

NEW YORK . 3 

• 

CHICAGO. 41 

PHILADELPHIA . 07 

ST. LOUIS.89 

BOSTON. 105 

CLEVELAND. 137 

BALTIMORE. 155 

PITTSBURGH. 171 

DETROIT. 189 

BUFFALO. 207 

SAN FRANCISCO. 227 

NEW ORLEANS.245 

WASHINGTON. 205 

REFERENCE TABLES . 299 

INDEX. 305 


vii 


















LIST OF MAPS 


PAGE 

The Boroughs of New York —Entrances to her Harbor . . 10 

Manhattan Island and the City Parks .20 

New York’s Subway and Bridge Connections ...... 29 

Where Chicago was Founded.44 

Chicago’s Canals.48 

Chicago To-day. 60 

Location of Philadelphia.69 

Philadelphia To-day. 80 

Louisiana Purchase.90 

St. Louis and her Illinois Suburbs.92 

Map of Boston and its Vicinity.106 

The City of Boston.118 

Boston’s Land and Water Connections.120 

Cleveland and her Neighbors.140 

The City of Cleveland.144 

The City of Baltimore.164 

Location of Baltimore.168 

The Pittsburgh District.173 

The City of Pittsburgh.179 

The Great Lakes.190 

The City of Detroit.201 

New York’s Canals.209 

The Site of Buffalo.212 

The City of Buffalo.218 

The Site of San Francisco.232 

The City of San Francisco ...» .234 

Where New Orleans Stands.246 

The City of New Orleans.250 

The District of Columbia.268 

The City of Washington.270 

Some of the Great Railroads of the L nited States .... 303 


IX 
























































































GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



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THE MUNICIPAL BUILDING 
















GREAT CITIES OF THE 
UNITED STATES 

NEW YORK 

" Drop anchor! ” rang out the command as the little 
Dutch vessel furled her sails. On every side were the 
shining waters of 
a widespread bay, 
while just ahead 
stretched the forest- 
covered shores of 
an island. 

All on board were 
filled with excite¬ 
ment, wondering 
what lay beyond. 

" Have we at last 
really found a water¬ 
way across this new 
land of America ? ” they asked. There was only one way 
to know —to go and see. So on once more, past the 

3 



INDIANS VISITING THE HALF MOON 






























4 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



island, glided the Half Moon. From time to time, as she 
sailed along, the redskin savages visited her and traded 
many valuable furs for mere trifles. 

But at last the Half Moon could go no further. This 
was not a waterway to India, only a river leading into the 
depths of a wild and rugged country. Sick with disappoint¬ 
ment, her captain, Henry Hudson, turned about, journeyed 


"MY BROTHERS, WE HAVE COME TO TRADE WITH YOU” 

the length of the river which was later to bear his name, 
once more passed the island at the mouth of the river, and 
sailed away. All this in 1609. 

Manhattan was the Indian name for the island at the 
mouth of the Hudson River. Tempted by Henry Hudson’s 
furs, the thrifty Dutchmen Sent ship after ship to trade 
with the American Indians. And as the years went by, 
these Dutchmen built a trading post on Manhattan, and 




NEW YOEK 


5 


a little Dutch village grew up about the post. Soon the 
Dutch West India Company was formed to send out 
colonists to Manhattan and the land along the Hudson. 
A governor too was sent. His name was Peter Minuit. 

Now Peter Minuit was honest, and when he found that 
the Dutch were living on Indian land to which they had 
helped themselves, 
he was not con¬ 
tent. So he called 
together the tribes 
which lived on Man¬ 
hattan and, while 
the painted warriors 
squatted on the 
ground, spoke to 
them in words like 
these : " My broth¬ 
ers, we have come 
to trade with you. 

And that we may 
be near to buy your 
furs when you have 
gathered them, we 
wish to live among 
you, on your land. 

It is your land, and as we do not mean to steal it from 
you, I have asked you to meet me here that I may 
buy from you this island which you call Manhattan.” 
Then, in payment for the island, Peter Minuit offered 
the Indians ribbons, knives, rings, and colored beads — 
things dearly loved by the savages. The bargain was 



PETER STUYVESANT 








6 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


soon closed, and for twenty-four dollars’ worth of trinkets 
the Dutch became the owners of Manhattan Island. 

The Dutch settlement on Manhattan was called New 
Amsterdam. New Amsterdam was a pretty town, with its 
quaint Dutch houses built gable end toward the street and 
its gardens bright with flowers. Dutch windmills with 



NEW YORK IN OLDEN TIMES 


their long sweeping arms rose here and there, and near 
the water stood the fort. 

But though New Amsterdam grew and prospered in 
the years! after Peter Minuit bought Manhattan, life there 
did not run as smoothly as it might. In time Peter 
Stuyvesant came to be governor, and a stern, tyrannical 
ruler he was. He always saw things from the Dutch 




NEW YOEK 


7 



West India Company’s point of view, not from the colo¬ 
nists’. Disagreement followed disagreement till the people 
were nearly at the end of their patience. 

Then, one day in 1664, an English fleet sailed into the 
bay. A letter was brought ashore for Governor Stuyvesant. 
England too, so it 
seemed, laid claim 
to this land along 
the Hudson River, 
and now asked the 
Dutch governor to 
give up his col¬ 
ony to the Duke 
of York, a brother 
of England’s king. 

This done, the Dutch 
colonists could keep 
their property, and 
all their rights and 
privileges. In fact, 
even greater privi¬ 
leges would then 
be given them. 

In a towering 
rage Governor Stuyvesant tore the letter into bits and 
stamped upon them and called upon his colonists to rise 
and help him repulse the English. But the colonists 
would not rise. They felt that there was nothing to 
gain by so doing. The English promised much, far more 
than they had had under the rule of tyrannical Peter 
Stuyvesant and the Dutch West India Company. 


WASHINGTON TAKING THE OATH OF 
OFFICE 












8 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


What could the governor do ? Surely he alone could 
not defeat the English fleet. So at last, sorrowfully and 
reluctantly, he signed a surrender, and the Dutch Colony 
was given over to the English. 

Once in possession, the English renamed New Amster¬ 
dam, calling it New York. Now followed a hundred years 
of ever-increasing river, coast, and foreign trade, of grow¬ 
ing industries, of prosperity. And then — the Revolution. 

When the Decla¬ 
ration of Independ¬ 
ence was signed 
on July 4, 1776, 
George Washington 
and his army were 
in New York, guard¬ 
ing the city from 
the English. But be¬ 
fore the close of the 
year he was forced 
to retreat, and the 
English took posses¬ 
sion. By the close 
of the Revolution, in 1788, the English had robbed the 
city of much of its wealth and had ruined its business. 

After the war the thirteen states who had won their 
freedom from England joined together, drew up a consti¬ 
tution for their common government, and chose their first 
president. Then came the thirtieth of April, 1789. The 
streets were crowded, and a great throng packed the 
space before New York’s Federal Hall. This was Inaugu¬ 
ration Day, and on the balcony stood General Washington 



THE FIRST TRAIN IN NEW YORK STATE 





NEW YORK 


9 


taking the oath of office. It was a solemn moment. The 
ceremony over, a mighty shout arose — " Long live George 
Washington, president of the United States.” Cheers 
filled the air, bells pealed, and cannons roared. The new 
government had begun, and, for a time, New York was 
the capital city. 

Already New York was recovering from the effects of 
the war. Her trade with European ports had begun again, 
and it was no uncommon sight to see over one hundred 
vessels loading or unloading in her harbor at one time. 

New York harbor is one of the largest and best in the 
world. Add to this the city’s central location on the 
Atlantic seaboard, and it is no wonder that a vast coasting 
trade grew up with Eastern and Southern ports. 

Without doubt, however, the greatest business event 
in the history of New York City was the opening of the 
Erie Canal in 1825. The canal joined the Great Lakes 
with the Hudson River, making a water route from the 
rich Northwest to the Atlantic, with New York as the 
natural terminus. So with nearly all of the trade of 
the lake region at her command, New York soon became 
a great commercial center, outstripping both Boston and 
Philadelphia, which up to this time had ranked ahead 
of New York. 

A few years later the building of railroads began. 
The first railway from New York was begun in 1881, 
and it was not long before the city was the terminus of 
several lines and the chief railroad center of the Atlantic 
coast. As the railroads did more and more of the carry¬ 
ing, and the Erie Canal lost its former importance, 
New York did not suffer from the change, but still 



10 











NEW YORK 


11 


controlled much of the trade between the Northwest and 
European nations. Besides, as time went on, she built up 
an immense traffic with all parts of the continent, being 
easily reached by rail from the north, east, south, and west. 

The first half of the nineteenth century saw the arrival 
of many thousand immigrants from Europe. These, with 
the thousands of people who came from other parts of 
America, attracted by the city’s growing industries, made 
more and more room necessary. First, about 13,000 acres 
across the Ilarlem River were added to the city. Then, 
in 1895, the city limits were extended to the borders 
of Yonkers and Mt. Vernon. And finally, in 1898, 
New York, Brooklyn, Long Island City, and some other 
near-by towns were united under one government, forming 
together Greater New York, the largest American city 
and the second largest city in the world. 

New York to-day covers about 360 square miles, its great¬ 
est length from north to south being 32 miles, its greatest 
width about 16. The city is divided into five boroughs: 
Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Rich¬ 
mond. The Borough of Manhattan, on the long narrow 
island of that name, lies between the Hudson and the 
East River. North and east of Manhattan, on the main¬ 
land, lies the Borough of The Bronx. Just across the 
narrow East River, on Long Island, are the boroughs of 
Queens and Brooklyn; while Staten Island is known 
as the Borough of Richmond. 

As more and more people came to the city the busi¬ 
ness area on Manhattan proved too small, and with water 
to the east, to the west, and to the south, there was 
no possibility of spreading out in these directions. Yet 



12 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 

business kept increasing, and the cry for added room 
became more and more urgent. Finally, the building 
of the ten-story Tower Building in 1889 solved the 


NEW YORK SKYSCRAPERS 

difficulty. It showed that, though hemmed in on all sides, 
there was still one direction in which the business section 
could grow — upwards. And upwards it has grown. 










NEW YORK 


13 


To-day lower Manhattan fairly bristles with huge steel- 
framed skyscrapers which furnish miles and miles of 
office space, twenty, thirty, forty, in one case even fifty- 
five, stories above the street level. The supplying of office 
and factory space is not the only use that has been made 
of these steel build¬ 
ings. Great apart¬ 
ment houses from 
twelve to fifteen 
stories high provide 
homes for thou¬ 
sands. Mammoth 
hotels covering en¬ 
tire city blocks 
furnish temporary 
homes for the mul¬ 
titudes which visit 
the city each year. 

Fifteen of the larg¬ 
est of these can 
house more than 
15,000 guests at one 
time — a good-sized 
city in itself. Thus 
has Manhattan be¬ 
come one of the most densely populated areas on the 
globe. In the boroughs of Queens and Richmond, on the 
other hand, large tracts of land are given over to farms 
and market gardens. 

Manhattan is at once the smallest and the most impor¬ 
tant borough in the city. Here are the homes of more 



HOW A SKYSCRAPER IS MADE 














14 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


than 2,000,000 people, the business section of Greater 
New York, and the chief shipping districts. 

When building the narrow irregular streets of their 
little town on lower Manhattan, the inhabitants of New 
Amsterdam little dreamed that they would one day be 

the scene of the 
enormous traffic of 
modern New York. 
Those old, narrow, 
winding streets to¬ 
day swarm with hur¬ 
rying throngs from 
morning till night 
and are among the 
busiest and noisiest 
in the world. 

The newer part 
of the city from 
Fourteenth Street 
north to the Harlem 
River has been laid 
out in wide paral¬ 
lel avenues running 
north and south. 
These are crossed 
by numbered streets running east and west from river 
to river. Fifth Avenue runs lengthwise through the 
middle of the borough, dividing it into the East and 
West sides. On the East Side you will find the crowded 
homes of the poorer classes, where many of the working 
people of Manhattan live. On the West Side are many 



A MAMMOTH HOTEL 





NEW YORK 


15 



manufacturing plants, lumber yards, and warehouses. On 
the upper stretch of Fifth Avenue, and on the streets lead¬ 
ing off, are the homes of many of New York’s wealthiest 


FIFTH AVENUE FROM THIRTY-FOURTH STREET 

residents. Opposite Central Park are some of the most 
costly and beautiful mansions in the city. 

In this regular arrangement of streets, Broadway alone 
is the exception to the rule. Beginning at the southern 





















16 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


end of the island, it runs straight north for more than 
two miles, then turns west and winds its way throughout 
the whole length of the city. About its lower end, and 
on some of the neighboring streets, center the banking 
and financial interests. Here are many of the city’s 
richest banks and trust companies. 



BROADWAY CROSSING SIXTH AYENUE 


Wall Street, running east from Broadway about one 
third of a mile from the southern end of Manhattan, was 
named from the wall which the Dutch, in 1683, built 
across the island at this point, because they heard that 
the English were planning to attack them from the north. 
Though only half a mile in length, Wall Street probably 
surpasses all others in the extent of its business. 





NEW YORK 


17 


North of the banking center is the great wholesale re¬ 
gion, where merchants from all parts of the country buy 
their stock in large quantities, to sell again to the retail 
merchants. Beyond the wholesale region are the large 
retail stores — New York’s great shopping district. In 
these retail stores 
the merchants who 
have bought from 
the wholesalers sell 
direct to the peo¬ 
ple who are to use 
the goods. In this 
middle section of 
the island are also 
most of the better- 
class hotels, restau¬ 
rants, clubs, and 
theaters, which have 
been gradually mak¬ 
ing their way fur¬ 
ther and further 
uptown, crowding 
the best resident 
section still further 
north. 

The customhouse, where the government collects duties 
on goods brought into the port of New York from other 
lands, was built at the extreme southern end of the island, 
where Fort Amsterdam used to stand. The United States 
Sub-Treasury, in Wall Street, stands on the site of Federal 
Hall, where Washington was inaugurated. Here are stored 



WALL STREET 














18 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


large quantities of gold, silver, and paper money belong- 
ing to the government. In and about City Hall Park 
are the post office, the courthouse, and the Hall of Rec¬ 
ords. The new public library, on Fifth Avenue between 

Fortieth and F orty- 
second streets, is the 
largest library building 
in the world. 

The city’s parks are 
many. Central Park, 
in the center of Man¬ 
hattan, ranks among 
the world’s finest pleas¬ 
ure grounds. It is two 
miles and a half long 
and one-half mile wide, 
and has large stretches 
of woodland, beautiful 
lawns, gleaming lakes, 
and sparkling foun¬ 
tains. Here, too, are the 
Metropolitan Museum 
of Art and Cleopatra’s 
Needle — an obelisk 
thousands of years old, 
presented to the city 
by a ruler of Egypt. And here are reservoirs which hold 
the water brought by aqueducts from the Croton River, 
about forty miles north of the city. This river was for 
many years the sole source of Manhattan’s water supply. 
In 1905, however, the city began work on an immense 



CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE 






NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 



METROPOLITAN .MUSEUM OE ART 


10 





































Battery Park 

/ * 

A 




PROSPECT 1 
PARK 


SCALE OF MILES 





MANHATTAN ISLAND AND THE CITY PARKS 


20 














NEW YORK 


21 


aqueduct which is to bring all the drinking-water for all five 
boroughs from reservoirs in the Catskill Mountain region. 

The tomb of General Grant is at the northern end of 
Riverside Park, which is on a high ridge along the Hud¬ 
son River above Seventy-second Street. Riverside Drive, 
skirting this park, is one 
of the most beautiful 
boulevards in the city. 

Then there are Pros¬ 
pect Park in Brooklyn, 
and Pelham Bay and 
Van Cortlandt parks in 
The Bronx. The city 
zoo and the Botanical 
Gardens are in Bronx 
Park. And in addition 
to all these there are 
more than two hundred 
smaller open spaces and 
squares scattered over 
the city. 

Columbia University, 

New York University, 

Fordham, the College 
of the City of New York, and Barnard College are 
among the most noted of New York’s many educational 
institutions. 

About five million people live in this wonderful city, 
and to supply them all with food is a tremendous busi¬ 
ness in itself. During the night special trains bring milk, 
butter, and eggs; refrigerator cars come laden with beef; 



THE TOMB OF GENERAL GRANT 








22 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



and from the market gardens of Long Island fruits and 
vegetables are gathered and taken to the city during the 
cool of the night that they may be sold, fresh and inviting, 
in the morning. 

Great numbers of New York’s inhabitants are from 
foreign lands. Several thousand Chinese manage to exist 


WHERE THE SEALS LIVE IN BRONX PARK 

in the few blocks which make up New York’s Chinatown. 
A large Italian population lives huddled together in Little 
Italy, as well as in other sections of the city. Thousands 
upon thousands of Jews are crowded into the Hebrew sec¬ 
tion on the lower east side of Manhattan. There is also 
a German and a French colony, as well as distinct Negro, 
Greek, Russian, Armenian, and Arab quarters. Most of 








THE ELEPHANT HOUSE IN BRONX PARK 





























24 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


these are in lower Manhattan, and in consequence lower 
Manhattan is by no means deserted when the vast army 
of shoppers, workers, and business men have gone home 
for the night. 

The necessity of carrying these shoppers, workers, and 
business men to and from their homes in the residence 



THE OLD AND THE NEW 


sections of the city and in the suburbs gradually led to 
the development of New York’s wonderful rapid-transit 
system. Within the borders of Manhattan itself, horse cars 
soon proved unequal to handling the crowds that each day 
traveled north and south. So the first elevated railway 
was built. Then six years later, a second line was con¬ 
structed. Others soon followed, not only in Manhattan 
but also in Brooklyn and The Bronx. Raised high above 




NEW YORK 


25 


the busy streets by means of iron trestles, and making 
but few stops, these elevated trams could carry passen¬ 
gers much faster than the surface cars, and for a time the 
problem seemed to be solved. 

The traveling public was rapidly increasing, however, 
and before the close of the nineteenth century both the 



A NEW YORK ELEVATED RAILWAY 


surface cars, now run by electricity, and the elevated 
trains were sorely overcrowded during the morning and 
evening rush hours. More cars were absolutely necessary, 
and as there was little room to run them on or above 
the surface, New York decided to make use of the space 
under the ground, just as it had already turned to account 
that overhead. 








NEW YORK’S FIRST TWO-STORY CAR 



A SUBWAY ENTRANCE 


20 





































NEW YORK 


27 


The work was begun in 1901. A small army of men 
was set to blasting and digging tunnels underneath the 
city streets, — a tremendous task, — and in 1904 the first 
subway was opened. Electric cars running on these 
underground tracks carry passengers from one end of the 
island to the other with the speed of a railroad train. 



SUBWAY TUNNELS 


But what of the means of travel for those living outside 
of Manhattan ? Years back, business men living on Long 
Island had to cross the East River on ferry boats. This 
was particularly inconvenient in winter, when fogs or 
floating ice were liable to cause serious delays. Besides, 
as New York grew, such numbers crossed on the ferries 
that they were overcrowded. Relief came for a time when, 








28 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


in 1888, the Brooklyn Bridge was built over the East River 
from Brooklyn to New York. This bridge is over a mile 
long. Across it run a roadway, a walk for foot passengers, 
and tracks for elevated trains as well as for surface cars. 
Two even longer bridges, the Williamsburg Bridge and the 



A FERRY BOAT 


Manhattan Bridge, have since been built between Man¬ 
hattan and Brooklyn. Then, too, there is the Queensboro 
Bridge, between Manhattan and the Borough of Queens. 

Though thousands and thousands daily crossed the 
East River over these bridges, men soon foresaw that 
the time was not far distant when ferries and bridges to¬ 
gether would be unable to take care of the ever-growing 
traffic. Further means of travel had to be provided, and 
the success of the city’s underground railway suggested a 






NEW YORK’S SUBWAY AND BRIDGE CONNECTIONS 


29 












30 GREAT CITIES OE THE UNITED STATES 


practical idea. As early as 1908, the subway was con¬ 
tinued and carried under the East River to Brooklyn. 
Several tubes have since been built under the Hudson, 
connecting Manhattan with the New Jersey shore. To¬ 
day New York is building many miles of new subway 



BROOKLYN BRIDGE 

under various parts of the city as well as under the Har¬ 
lem and East rivers. Carrying passengers under water has 
proved as great a success as carrying them underground. 

Over and above all these means of rapid transit, Greater 
New York has at its service ten of America’s great rail¬ 
roads. The Pennsylvania Railroad has an immense station 
in New York, one of the finest of its kind. Tunnels under 
the Hudson and East rivers carry its trains to New Jersey 
and Long Island. 












THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD STATION 



THE GRAND CENTRAL STATION 


31 





























32 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


The new Grand Central Station is the greatest railroad 
terminal in the world. The station is a beautiful building 
of stone and marble, large enough to accommodate thirty 
thousand people at one time. Between railroads and tun¬ 
nels, bridges and ferries, surface cars, elevated trains, and 
subways, New York’s rapid transit system is one of the 
best in the world. 

With such advantages as a receiving and distributing 
center, it is small wonder that the city has become the 
nation’s chief market place. It is without a rival as the cen¬ 
ter of the wholesale dry-goods and wholesale grocery busi¬ 
nesses. More than half of the imports of the United States 
enter by way of New York’s port, and its total foreign com¬ 
merce is five times that of any other city in the country. 

Rubber, silk goods, furs, jewelry, coffee, tea, sugar, and 
tin are among the leading imports. Cotton, meats, and 
breadstuffs are the most important exports. 

Besides being the principal market place of the United 
States, New York is also its greatest workshop, as it 
makes over one tenth of the manufactures of the country. 
In the manufacture of clothing alone, more than a hun¬ 
dred thousand people are employed. There are compara¬ 
tively few large factories for carrying on this work, as 
much of it is done in tenement houses and in small work¬ 
shops. The growth of this industry has been largely due 
to the abundance of cheap unskilled labor furnished by 
the immigrant population of the city. 

Second in importance is the refining of sugar and 
molasses, carried on chiefly in Brooklyn along the East 
River, where boats laden with raw sugar from the South¬ 
ern states and the West Indies unload their cargoes. 


NEW YORK 


33 


New York City leads in the refining of sugar as well as 
in its importation. 

Added to these, printing and publishing, the refining 
of petroleum, slaughtering and meat packing, the roast¬ 
ing and grinding of coffee and spices, the making of 



THE BATTERY 


foundry and machine-shop products, cigars, tobacco, mil¬ 
linery, furniture, and jewelry are the leading industries 
of the many thousands which have grown up in the city. 
All this is largely due to the ease with which raw mate¬ 
rials can be obtained and finished articles marketed. 
Thanks to its commercial advantages, New York leads 
all American cities in the value of its manufactures and 
surpasses them in the variety of its products. 








84 


NEW YORK CITY DOCKS 
















NEW YORK 


35 


At the southern end of Manhattan Island is the Bat¬ 
tery. In the old days the Battery was a fort. Now 
it is used as an aquarium. From the Battery New 
York’s docks extend for miles along both sides of lower 
Manhattan and line the Long Island and New Jersey 
shores as well. The 
wharves are piled 
high with bales and 
bags, boxes and 
barrels. Ships from 
the South come 
with cargoes of cot¬ 
ton, others bound 
for England take 
this cotton away. 

Tank steamers from 
Cuba bring molas¬ 
ses; similar ones 
are filled with petro¬ 
leum destined for 
the ends of the 
earth. Cattle boats 
take on live stock 
brought from the 
West, grain ships 
load at the many elevators built at the water’s edge, and 
vessels from all the larger ports of the world put ashore 
goods of every description. Along both shores of the Hud¬ 
son River are the piers of the great trans-Atlantic steam¬ 
ship companies, the landing places of the largest and fastest 
passenger vessels in the world. Here also are the docks 



LOADING A FREIGHT STEAMER 




36 GREAT CITIES OE THE UNITED STATES 


of the many river and coastwise lines which carry passen¬ 
gers to and from the cities and towns on the Hudson and 
the Atlantic coast. Half the foreign trade and travel of the 
United States passes over the wharves of lower Manhattan. 

The entire harbor includes the Hudson and East rivers 
and the upper and lower New York Bay with the connecting 



A DOCK SCENE 


strait known as The Narrows. The upper bay, New York’s 
real harbor, can be entered from the ocean in three ways — 
a narrow winding channel around Staten Island, a northeast 
entrance through Long Island Sound and the East River, 
and an entrance through The Narrows from the lower bay. 

Among the islands in the upper bay is Ellis Island, where 
immigrants are inspected before being allowed to enter our 







NEW YORK 


37 



A GREAT OCEAN LINER 



NEW YORK HARBOR 


country. On another island stands the splendid bronze 
statue of " Liberty Enlightening the World,” given to the 
United States by the people of France. It is now America’s 
greeting to her future citizens as they sail up the harbor. 













38 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


What a different picture the harbor presents to-day from 
the one Hudson saw over three hundred years ago! The 
quiet undisturbed waters of that time are now alive the 
year around with craft of every sort, from the giant ocean 

liner to the grace¬ 
ful sailboat. V es- 
sels freighted with 
merchandise, tugs 
towing canal boats, 
ferries for Staten Is¬ 
land, barges loaded 
with coal, river 
steamers, excursion 
boats, and battle¬ 
ships from far and 
near, day and night, 
pass in an endless 
procession where 
the solitary Indian 
used to glide in his 
silent canoe. 

When the Dutch 
bought Manhattan 
it was a beautiful 
wooded island in¬ 
habited by Indians 
who supplied their 
simple wants by hunting and fishing. What a change 
the island has undergone since that time! The Indians 
have disappeared with the forest. In their place live and 
struggle vast armies of human beings gathered together 



THE STATUE OF LIBERTY 





NEW YORK 


39 


from all the corners of the earth. Where squaws used to 
pitch their wigwams, giant skyscrapers tower up toward 
the clouds. The stillness of the forest has been succeeded 
by the noise and bustle of a busy city. The lazy monoto¬ 
nous life of the savage has given way to a ceaseless 
activity and hurry. 

The twenty-four dollars which bought the whole island 
— less than three hundred years ago — would not now buy 
a single square inch in the center of the city. The hunt¬ 
ing and fishing ground of the red men has become the 
heart of the greatest city of the Western Hemisphere. 


NEW YORK 

FACTS TO REMEMBER 

Population (1910), nearly 5,000,000 (4,766,883). 

Eirst city in population in the United States. 

Second city in population in the world. 

Divided into five sections, called boroughs. 

Carries on more than half the foreign trade of the 
United States. 

Leads all American cities in the value of its manufac¬ 
tures. 

One of the best harbors in the world. 

Connected by great railway systems with all parts of 
America. 

Connected with the Great Lakes by the Hudson River 
and the Erie Canal. 

A city of skyscrapers. 

Wonderful system of underground, overhead, and sur¬ 
face transportation. 



40 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY 

1. Why did the Dutch settle on Manhattan Island? How 
did the Dutch governor secure the land from the Indians ? 

2. What great ceremony connected with the establishment 
of the government of the United States took place in New 
York? Why was this ceremony held in New York? 

3. What was the most important event in advancing the 
business growth of New York? 

4. What effect did the arrival of vast numbers of immi¬ 
grants have upon the city ? 

5. Why are there such tall buildings in New York ? 

6. Name some of the principal streets and their chief 
features; name some of the colleges and universities. 

7. Give some facts about Central Park, The Bronx, and 
Riverside Drive. 

8. Give some idea of the size of New York, its population, 
and the nationalities that comprise it. 

9. Give a brief account of the means of transportation. 

10. In what respects does New York rank first of all the 
cities of the United States ? 

11. What are its principal exports and imports ? 

12. What commercial advantages does New York enjoy ? 

13. What are the chief manufactured products of New 
York City, and how can it produce so much without many 
great factories ? 

14. Compare the harbor and city of to-day with that of 
three hundred years ago. 

15. From a New York newspaper find out the foreign coun¬ 
tries and the cities of this country to which vessels make 
regular sailings from New York. 

16. Name all the railroads entering the city. 



CHICAGO 


" Chicago is wiped out.” " Chicago cannot rise again.” 
So said the newspapers all over the country, in October, 
1871. And well they might think so, for the great fire 
of Chicago — one of the worst in the world’s history — 
had laid low the city. 

The summer had been unusually dry. For months 
almost no rain had fallen. The ground was hot and 
parched, the whole city dry as kindling wood. Then 
about nine o’clock on a windy Sunday night, the fire 
broke out in a poor section of the West Side. It seemed 
as if everything a spark touched, blazed up. While the 
firemen stood by, helpless to check the flames, rows of 
houses and blocks of factories burned down. 

In a short time the lumber district was a great bonfire, 
the flames shooting hundreds of feet into the air. On and 
on swept the fire along the river front. Then the horror- 
stricken watchers saw the flames cross to the South Side. 
All had thought that the fire would be checked at the 
river, but the wind carried pieces of burning wood and 
paper to the roofs beyond. 


41 























42 GEEAT CITIES OE THE UNITED STATES 


The business section was burning! The firemen worked 
desperately, but in vain. Hundreds of Chicago’s finest 
buildings — stores, offices, banks, and hotels—were swal¬ 
lowed up by the flames. The city had become a roaring 
furnace, and the terrified people rushed madly for safety. 



AFTER THE FIRE 


Once more the fire crossed the river, this time to the 
North Side, with its beautiful residence districts. Here 
too wind and flame swept all before them till Lincoln 
I aik was reached, where at last the fire was checked 



CHICAGO 


43 


in its northward course; there was nothing more to 
burn. It had raged for two nights and a day, laying 
waste a strip of land almost four miles long and one 
mile wide. 

luesday morning saw seventeen thousand buildings de¬ 
stroyed and one hundred thousand people homeless. The 
best part of Chicago lay in ruins. What wonder that men 
everywhere thought the stricken city could not rise again! 



Courtesy of Central Trust Company of Illinois, Chicago 
HOME OF JOHN KINZIE 


At the time this terrible disaster happened, Chicago had 
been a city for a little less than thirty-five years. 

The mouth of the Chicago River had been a favorite 
meeting place for Indians and French trappers long before 
permanent settlement began. In 1777 a negro from San 
Domingo, who had come to trade with the Indians, built 
a log store on the north bank of the river. This store 
was bought in 1803 bv John Ivinzie, another trader and 
Chicago’s first white settler. 





44 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


The next year the United States government built 
Fort Dearborn on the south side of the river, not far 
from the lake. Though Fort Dearborn was nothing more 
than a stockade with blockhouses at the corners, a little 
settlement gradually grew up around it. 



During the War of 1812 the Indians attacked the fort, 
burned it to the ground, and either massacred or captured 
most of the settlers while they were fleeing to Detroit for 
safety. 

Fort Dearborn was rebuilt after the war, but settlers 
were slow in coming. By 1830 there were scarcely a 
hundred people in Chicago, then a little village of log 

















CHICAGO 


45 


houses scattered over a swampy plain. Fur trading was 
still the chief occupation. 

A change was soon to come. The southern part of 
Illinois was by this time being settled and dotted with 
farms, and each year larger crops were produced. The 
farmers saw that they must get their products to the 
Atlantic coast if they wished to prosper, and the Great 
Lakes were the most convenient route over which to 
send them. 

Lake Michigan extended into the heart of the fertile 
prairie lands, but its shores were almost unbroken by 
harbors. Men early saw the possibilities of the mouth 
of the Chicago River. It could be made into an excel¬ 
lent harbor with little expense, and if once this were 
done, Chicago would be the natural port of the rich 
Middle West. 

In 1833 the government began improvements by cut¬ 
ting a channel through the sand bar across the mouth of 
the river and building stone piers into the lake to keep 
out the drifting sand. Vessels were soon entering the 
river instead of anchoring in the lake as formerly. Lake 
trade increased. More and more boats were bringing 
goods from the East to be distributed among the farmers 
of Illinois. The new harbor made intercourse with the 
outer world easy. 

The growth of trade, however, was hindered by the 
absence of good roads. Farmers who wished to bring 
anything to the Chicago market had to cross the open 
prairie, which was wet and marshy near the town. Such 
a ride was an unpleasant experience, as often the wagon 
would stick in the deep mud, and the poor driver had no 


46 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


choice but to wait until help should happen along. Many 
preferred to take their crops to the cities farther south, 
where better roads had been built. 

"We too will have roads,” said the people of Chicago, 
anxious for more trade, and they set about building them 
with a will. Soon good roads entered the town from 



AN EARLY CHICAGO DRAWBRIDGE 


all directions, and over them the rich products of the 
surrounding country came pouring into Chicago. 

Business and wealth increased, and more and more 
settlers arrived. Most of them came by way of the lakes, 
but many came in prairie schooners, as the immigrants’ 
great covered wagons were called. By 1837 the popula¬ 
tion had risen to four thousand, and Chicago became a city. 

Its growth from this time was marvelous. Its loca¬ 
tion at the head of Lake Michigan, its fine harbor, the 









CHICAGO 


47 


resources of the rich back country, all combined to make 
it the chief commercial center of the Middle West. 

In the early days, when Chicago was only a tiny 
village, there had been talk of connecting Lake Michigan 
at Chicago with the Illinois River by canal. As the 
Illinois flows into the Mississippi, this would furnish a 



WHERE THE STAGECOACH STARTED 


water route from the East down the entire Mississippi 
valley. In 1836 the canal was actually begun. A few 
years later hard times came, and the work was stopped 
for a while, but it was finished in 1848. This was known 
as the Illinois and Michigan Canal. It extended from 
La Salle, on the Illinois River, to Chicago — a distance 
of over ninety miles — and offered cheap transportation 
between Chicago and the fertile farm lands to the south. 











48 


CHICAGO’S CANALS 

















































































































































































































































































































CHICAGO 


49 


Though the canal was a success, railroads did even 
more for the city. The year that saw the canal completed 
also saw the first train run from Chicago to Galena, near 
the Mississippi, in the heart of the lead country. 

Four years later, in 1852, came railroad connection 
with the East, when the Michigan Southern and Michigan 
Central railroads entered the city. Other lines soon 
followed, and it was not long before Chicago was one 
of the important railroad centers of the country. 

But while Chicago was fast becoming rich and big, it 
was not a pleasant place in which to live. The site of the 
city was a low and marshy plain, almost on a level with 
the lake, and the problems of drainage of such a location 
had to be met and solved. 

In the beginning, to keep the houses dry, they were 
built above the ground and supported by timbers or piles. 
Cellars and basements were unknown, and the city streets 
were a disgrace. In spring they were flooded and swim¬ 
ming with mud. Even in summer, pools of stagnant 
water stood in many places. For years wagons sticking 
fast in the mud were common sights. 

Cholera, smallpox, and scarlet fever swept the city 
again and again. People, knowing only too well that 
unsanitary conditions brought on these diseases, did their 
best to remedy matters. They saw that Chicago would 
be clean and healthy if only they could find a way to 
carry off her wastes. 

First they decided to turn the water into the river by 
sloping all the streets towards it. Then came a severe flood 
which did much damage and showed the folly of digging 
down any part of the city. Chicago was too low already. 


50 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


So tlie people hastened to raise their streets again by 
filling them in with sand, and this time they made 
gutters along the side to carry off the water. Heavy 
wagons soon wore away the sand, however, and the 
streets were as muddy as before. 

Finally, an engineer advised the people to raise the 
whole city several feet; then brick sewers could be built 
beneath the street to carry the sewage into the river. At 
first many refused to listen to such a proposal. The 
undertaking was so great that it frightened them. 

But as things were, business and health were suffering. 
Something had to be done, and at last the city determined 
to raise itself out of the mud, and work was begun. 
Ground was hauled in from the surrounding country, 
streets and lots were filled in, the buildings were gradu¬ 
ally raised, and sewers were built sloping toward the 
river. It Avas a gigantic task and cost years of labor, but 
when it was done, Chicago was, for the first time, a dry 
city. It must be remembered that the area of Chicago 
at that time was but a small part of the present city. 

Another source of trouble was the drinking-water, 
which was taken from Lake Michigan. The sewage in 
the river flowed into the lake and at times contaminated 
the water far out from the shore, thus poisoning the city’s 
supply. It was therefore decided to build new waterworks, 
which would bring into the city pure water from farther 
out in the lake. A tunnel was built, extending two miles 
under Lake Michigan. At its outer end a great screened 
pipe reached up into the lake to let water into the tunnel. 
Over the pipe a crib was built to protect it. On the 
shore, pumping stations with powerful engines raised the 


CHICAGO 


51 


water to high towers from which all parts of the city 
were supplied. 

The first tunnel was completed in 1867. With the 
growth of the city other tunnels and cribs have been 
built, farther out in the lake, to supply the increasing need. 



CHICAGO HIGH SCHOOL, 1856 


By 1870 Chicago had become one of the largest cities 
in the country. In 1830 the settlement at the mouth of 
the Chicago River had barely twenty houses. Forty years 
later it had over three hundred thousand inhabitants. 
The wonderful resources of the upper Mississippi valley 
had been largely responsible for the city’s growth, and the 
rapid development of the entire West promised Chicago a 
still greater future. 















52 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


Then came the fire, and to the homeless people looking 
across miles of blackened ruins it seemed that Chicago 
had no future at all. Had not the fire undone the work 
of forty years ? 

The first despair gradually gave way to a more hope¬ 
ful feeling. Truly the loss was great — the best part 



CLARK STREET IN 1857 


of the city lay in ruins. But was not the wealth of 
the West left, and the harbor and the railroads ? These 
had built up Chicago in the beginning, and they would 
do so again. 

The rebuilding began at once. At first little wooden 
houses and sheds were constructed to give temporary 
shelter to the homeless. Help came to the stricken city 
from all sides. Thousands of carloads of food were sent, 
and several million dollars were collected in Europe and 
America. 








CHICAGO 


53 


Two thirds of the city had been built of wood. Now 
the business blocks, at least, were to be as nearly fire¬ 
proof as possible. Tall buildings of brick and stone were 
planned. But such structures are heavy, and if they 
were built directly on the swampy ground underlying 
the city, there would be danger of their settling un¬ 
evenly and possibly toppling over. So layers of steel 
rails crossing each other were sunk in the ground, and 
the spaces between them were filled in with concrete. 
Upon this solid foundation the first skyscrapers of 
Chicago were built. 

To-day concrete caissons are constructed on bed rock, often 
from 100 to 110 feet below the surface, and upon these 
rest the steel bases of the modern Chicago skyscrapers. 

Work went on quickly. In a year the business section 
was rebuilt. In three years there was hardly a trace of 
the fire to be seen in the city, which was larger and more 
beautiful than before. 

After the rebuilding, the water question came- up for 
discussion again. In spite of all that had been done to 
protect the water supply, the increasing sewage of the 
city, carried by the river into the lake, at times still made 
the water unfit to drink. The one way of getting pure 
water was to prevent the river from flowing into the lake. 
This could be done only by building a new canal, large 
and deep enough to change the flow of the river away 
from the lake. Such a canal was finally completed in 
1900, after eight years’ work and at a cost of over 
$75,000,000. It is 28 miles long, 22 feet deep, and 165 
feet wide, and it connects the Chicago River with the Des 
Plaines, a branch of the Illinois River. A large volume 


54 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


of water from Lake Michigan continually flushes this im¬ 
mense drain, * carrying the sewage away. The Chicago 
River no longer flows into the lake, and at last the danger 
of contaminated drinking-water from this source is past. 

One dream of the builders of the canal has not yet 
been realized. They called it the Chicago Drainage and 
Ship Canal, in the hope that it might some day be used 
for shipping purposes as well as for draining the river. 



BUSY SCENE AT ENTRANCE TO CHICAGO RIVER 


This cannot happen, however, till the rivers which it 
connects are deepened and otherwise improved. 

Such has been the history of the growth of Chicago — 
to-day the greatest railroad center and lake port in the 
world. It is now the second city in size in America and 
ranks fourth among the cities of the world. 

O 

The port of Chicago owes much to the Chicago River, 
which has been repeatedly widened, deepened, and straight¬ 
ened. It is to-day one of the world’s most important 





CHICAGO 


55 


rivers, commercially considered. After extending about 
one mile westward from the lake, the river divides into 
two branches, one extending northwest, the other south¬ 
west. Many docks have been built along its fifteen miles 
of navigable channel, and its banks are lined with factories, 
warehouses, coal yards, and grain elevators. 

These grain elevators are really huge tanks where the 
grain is stored and kept dry until time to reship it. There 



Courtesy of Central Trust Company of Illinois, Chicago 

CHICAGO’S FIRST GRAIN ELEVATOR 


are many of them along the river, and they bear wit¬ 
ness to the fact that Chicago is the world’s greatest 
grain center. 

In 1838 the city received only seventy-eight bushels of 
wheat. This was brought in by wagons rumbling across 
the unbroken prairie. Canal boats and railroads have 
taken the place of the wagons of early days and every 
year bring hundreds of millions of bushels of grain from 
the West to the elevators along the Chicago River. 







56 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


Though much of the grain remains here but a short 
time and is then shipped to other points, a great quantity 
is made into flour in the city’s many flourishing mills. 

Of equal importance with the Chicago River harbor is 
the great harbor in South Chicago at the mouth of the 
Calumet River. Here ships from the Lake Superior region 



A GRAIN ELEVATOR OF TO DAY 

come with immense cargoes of ore. This ore, together with 
the supply of coal from the near-by Illinois coal fields, has 
developed the enormous steel industry of South Chicago. 

Vast quantities of steel are turned out. Some of this is 
shipped to foreign countries, but most of it is used in 
Chicago’s many foundries for the making of all kinds of 
iron and steel articles, in the city’s immense farm-tool fac¬ 
tories, and in the shipyards for building large steamships. 




















CHICAGO 


57 


Close to the water front, too, are extensive lumber yards, 
for Chicago is the largest lumber market in the United 
States. Here boats can be seen unloading millions of feet 
of timber from the great forests of Michigan and Wis¬ 
consin, sent to Chicago’s lumber yards to be distributed 
far and wide over the country. Large quantities are 
also taken to the factories in the city, to be cut and 
planed and made into doors, window frames, furniture, 
and practically everything that can be made of wood. 

In addition to her inner harbors, Chicago has a fine 
outer harbor. This is now being enlarged by the exten¬ 
sion of its breakwaters, and a $5,000,000 pier is under 
construction which will be more than half a mile in 
length and will greatly increase the shipping facilities. 

With all these advantages as a shipping point, thou¬ 
sands of vessels come to Chicago every year. Steamers 
connect it with the states along the Great Lakes and with 
Canada and the outer world. Its trade with Europe is 
large, corn and oats being the chief exports. New York 
alone in America surpasses Chicago in the total value 
of its commerce. 

Of Chicago’s nearly 2,500,000 inhabitants a large per¬ 
centage are foreign born, Germans, Poles, Irish, and Jews 
having settled here in great numbers. About forty lan¬ 
guages are spoken, and newspapers are regularly pub¬ 
lished in ten of them. 

With its suburbs, Chicago stretches nearly 30 miles 
along the shore of Lake Michigan and reaches irregularly 
inland about 10 miles. The city limits inclose an area 
of over 191 square miles, which the two branches of the 
Chicago River cut into three parts, known as the South, 


58 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


West, and North sides. The three divisions of the city 
are connected by bridges and by tunnels under the river. 

Though business is spreading to the West Side, the 
central business section is still on the South Side and 
extends from the Chicago River beyond Twenty-sixth 

Street. Most of the 
great wholesale and 
retail houses, banks, 
theaters, hotels, and 
public buildings are 
crowded into this 
area, and here is the 
largest department 
store in the world, 
in which over 9000 
people work. The 
automobile indus¬ 
try alone occupies 
nearly all of Mich¬ 
igan Avenue for 
two miles south of 
Twelfth Street. 

Surrounding this 
crowded business sec¬ 
tion are most of the terminals of Chicago’s many railroads. 
These connect the city with New York, Boston, and Phila¬ 
delphia in the East; with New Orleans, Galveston, and 
Atlanta in the South; as well as with San Francisco and 
the other large cities of the West. The courthouse and 
city hall and the new Northwestern Railway Station are 
among the city’s finest buildings. 



COURTHOUSE AND CITY HALL 














CHICAGO 


59 



Elevated railways and a freight subway have been built 
in recent years and have somewhat relieved the crowded 
condition of the streets. This subway, opened in 1905, 
connects with all the leading business and freight houses, 
and carries coal, ashes, garbage, luggage, and heavy 
materials of every kind to and from them. 


THE NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY STATION 

Five miles southwest of the city hall are the Union 
Stockyards, the greatest market of any kind in the world, 
covering about five hundred acres. When Chicago was 
only a small village, herds of cattle were driven across the 
prairies to be slaughtered in the little packing houses 
which grew up along the Chicago River. As the raising 
of cattle and hogs increased in the state, most of them 










t LINCOLN 
If PARK 


^Chicago R, 


GArFtFI 


-street■ 


Union Stock 


fYards 


mmm 


I'pXrk 


JAQKSON 


liman 


Lake 


Calume 





1 



1 

■ 


CHICAGO TO-DAY 



































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































CHICAGO 


61 



were sent to the Chicago market, and the stockyards con¬ 
tinued to develop until to-day they can hold more than 
four hundred thousand animals at once. 

Near the yards are the famous packing houses of Chi¬ 
cago, where over two thirds of the cattle, hogs, and sheep 
received in the city are slaughtered and prepared for ship¬ 
ping. The use, during the last forty years, of refrigerator 


WHERE CARS ARE MADE 

cars has made possible the sending of dressed meats to far- 
distant points, and a great increase in Chicago's packing 
business has resulted. 

Beef, pork, hams, and bacon from Chicago are eaten in 
every town and city of America and in many parts of 
Europe. Other products are lard, soups, beef extracts, 
soap, candles, and glue, for every bit of the slaughtered 
animal is turned into use. 







62 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


In a district of South Chicago, known as Pullman, are the 
shops of the Pullman Palace Car Company and the homes 
of its army of workmen. Cars of all sorts are manufactured 



THE SKELETON OF A PULLMAN CAR 


by the Pullman company, which owns and operates the 
dining and sleeping cars on most American railroads. 

There is no one striking residence quarter in Chicago, 
but beautiful homes are found in many parts of the city. 



THE CAR COMPLETED 

Among the finest streets are Lake Shore Drive, along the 
lake front on the North Side, and Drexel and Grand 
avenues. 















CHICAGO 


63 


The parks of Chicago are nearly one hundred in number, 
the most important being Lincoln, Washington, Humboldt, 
Garfield, Douglas, and Jackson. These are connected by 
boulevards, or parkways, forming a great park system, 
sixty miles in length, which encircles the central part of 
the city. Lincoln 
Park borders the 
lake on the North 
Side and covers hun¬ 
dreds of acres, its 
area having been 
doubled by filling 
in along the shores 
of the lake. Jackson 
Park, on the lake 
shore of the South 
Side, was the site 
of the World’s Co¬ 
lumbian Exposition, 
which celebrated the 
four-hundredth an¬ 
niversary of the dis¬ 
covery of America. 

This park is con¬ 
nected with Washington Park by what is known as the 
Midway. Grant Park has been recently constructed on 
made land facing the central business portion of the 
city. Here is to be located the Field Museum of Natural 
History. 

Bordering the Midway are the fine stone buildings of 
The University of Chicago, opened in 1892. Its growth, 



MICHIGAN BOULEVAIiD 





64 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 

like that of Chicago, has been marvelous. Already it is 
one of the largest universities of the country. 

But with all its parks, its boulevards, its splendid 
water front, and its many other advantages, the people 
of Chicago are not yet satisfied. To-day they are working 
to carry out a splendid plan which will give the city more 


© The University of Chicago 

THE LAW SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO 

and larger parks and playgrounds, better and wider 
streets, and a really wonderful harbor. All this is being 
done " that by properly solving Chicago’s problems of 
transportation, street congestion, recreation, and public 
health, the city may grow indefinitely in wealth and com¬ 
merce and hold her position among the great cities of 
the world.” 






CHICAGO 


65 


CHICAGO 

FACTS TO REMEMBER 

Population (1910), over 2,000,000 (2,185,283). 

Second city in population. 

Second only to New York in value of manufactures. 

The leading market in the world for grain and meat 
products. 

A great iron and steel center. 

Chief lumber and furniture market of the United States. 
Greatest railroad center in the country. 

Most important lake port in the country. 

Has had a remarkable growth in industries and in 
population. 


QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY 

1. Tell what you can of Chicago’s early history. 

2. What great disaster befell Chicago in 1871 ? 

3 . Give five causes for the wonderful growth of Chicago. 

4 . What part has the Chicago River played in the develop¬ 
ment of the city ? 

5 . Describe a grain elevator. Why are they necessary in 
handling grain ? 

6. Name the advantages which Chicago enjoys on account 
of its location. 

7. What are the great wheat-growing states of the United 
States ? 

8. Give reasons for the development of the following indus¬ 
tries in Chicago: 

Iron and steel industries 
Meat packing 
Lumber trade 



66 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


9. What are the advantages of water transportation over 
rail transportation ? 

10. In what respects is rail transportation better than 
water transportation ? 

11. Why was Chicago willing to spend millions of dollars 
to improve her water supply ? How was this done ? 

12. Where are the workers secured to carry on the great 
industries of Chicago ? 

13 . Make a table, by measurement of a map of the 
United States, showing the distance from Chicago to the 
following places: 


New York City 
Boston 

Washington, D. C. 
New Orleans 


Denver 

Seattle 

San Francisco 
St. Louis 


14 . In what respects does Chicago stand first of American 
cities, and in what two things does she lead the world ? 

15 . Compare Chicago and New York as to exports and 
value of commerce. 

16 . What is the benefit of parks to a city? What has 
Chicago done to make her parks among the best in this 
country ? 



PHILADELPHIA 

In early days, when there was no United States and 
our big America was a vast wilderness inhabited mostly 
by Indians, people who came here were thought very 
adventuresome and brave. 

At that time there lived in England a distinguished 
admiral who was a great friend of the royal family. The 
king owed him about $64,000, and at his death this claim 
was inherited by his son, William Penn. Now William 
Penn was an ardent Quaker, and because of the persecu¬ 
tion of the Quakers in England he decided to found a 
Quaker colony in another country. King Charles II, who 
seldom had money to pay his debts, was only too glad to 
settle Penn’s claim by a grant of land in America. To 
this grant, consisting of 40,000 square miles lying west 
of the Delaware River, the king gave the name Pennsyl¬ 
vania, meaning "Penn’s Woods.” The next year, 1682, 
William Penn and his Quaker followers entered the 
Delaware River in the ship Welcome. 

Penn believed in honesty and fair play. He was gen¬ 
erous enough not to limit his colony to one religion or 
nationality. All who were honest and industrious were 

67 























68 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


welcome. The laws he made were extremely just, and 
land was sold to immigrants on very easy terms. 

Soon after his arrival in America, Penn wisely made 
a treaty with the Indians whose wigwams and hunting 
grounds were on or near the banks of the Delaware River. 
Beneath the graceful branches of a great elm he and the 



PENN’S TREATY WITH THE INDIANS 


Indian chief exchanged wampum belts, signifying peace 
and friendship. In the center of the belt which Penn 
received are two figures, one representing an Indian, the 
other a European, with hands joined in friendship. This 
belt is still preserved in Philadelphia by the Historical 
Society of Pennsylvania. 

In 1688 Penn laid out in large squares, between the 
Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, the beginning of a great 




PHILADELPHIA 


69 


city. This city lie called Philadelphia, a word which 
means " brotherly love.” At that time the so-called city 
had an area of 2 square miles and a population of 



PENN’S WAMPUM BELT 


only 400. To-day Philadelphia has an area of nearly 
130 square miles and a population of more than a million 
and a half. It is America’s third city in population, and 
it ranks third among the manufacturing cities of the 
United States. 

Philadelphia is 
on the Dela¬ 
ware River, a 
hundred miles 
from the ocean, 
but it has all 
the advantages 
of a seaport, 
for the river is 
deep enough 
to let great 
ocean steamers 
navigate to the city’s docks. Philadelphia’s easy access 
to the vast stores of iron, coal, and petroleum, for which 
Pennsylvania is famous, its location on two tidewater 
rivers, — the Delaware and the Schuylkill, — and its 


























70 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


important railroads, all have helped to make it a great 
industrial and commercial center. One half of the anthra¬ 
cite coal in the United States is mined in Pennsylvania. 
Much of it is shipped to Philadelphia and from there 
by rail and water to many other states and countries. 

Some of the greatest manufacturing plants in the 
United States, in fact in the world, are in Philadelphia. 



THE OLD STAGE WHICH JOURNEYED FROM PHILADELPHIA 
TO PITTSBURGH 


In certain branches of the textile, or woven-goods, in¬ 
dustry Philadelphia is unsurpassed. In the making of 
woolen carpets she leads the world. This industry goes 
back to Revolutionary times, when the first yard of carpet 
woven in the United States came from a Philadelphia 
loom. In 1791 a local manufacturer made a carpet, 
adorned with patriotic emblems, for the United States 
Senate. 




PHILADELPHIA 


71 


Other important industries of the city include the manu¬ 
facturing of woolen and worsted goods, hosiery and knit 
goods, rugs, cotton goods, felt hats, silk goods, cordage, 
and twine and the dyeing and finishing of textiles. The 
largest lace mill in the world is in Philadelphia. 

Philadelphia is also noted for the manufacture of iron 
and steel. The largest single manufactory in Philadelphia 
is the Baldwin Locomotive Works, which is the greatest 
of its kind. Pic¬ 
tures of the old 
Flying Machine, a 
stagecoach which 
made trips to New 
York in 1776, and 
of Old Ironsides, 
the first locomotive 
built by Matthias 
W. Baldwin in 1832, 
seem very queer 
in comparison with 
the powerful 300-ton locomotives built in Philadelphia 
to-day. Old Ironsides weighed a little over 4 tons and 
lacked power to pull a loaded train on wet and slippery 
rails; hence the following notice which appeared in the 
newspapers: " The locomotive engine built by Mr. M. W. 
Baldwin of this city will depart daily when the weather 
is fair with a train of passenger cars. On rainy days 
horses will be attached.” 

Besides the American railroads using Baldwin locomo 
tives, engines built in this plant are in use in many 
foreign lands. There is hardly a part of the world to 







72 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


which one can go where a Philadelphia-made locomotive 
is not to be seen. 

Philadelphia holds an important place in the construc¬ 
tion of high-grade machine tools. She has great rolling 
mills, foundries, and machine shops, and one of the most 
famous bridge-building establishments in the world. Her 
people smile at being called slow ; in fourteen weeks a 



THE FIRST TRAIN ON THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD 


Philadelphia concern made from pig iron a steel bridge a 
quarter of a mile long, carried it halfway around the world, 
and set it up over a river in Africa. 

Shipbuilding in Philadelphia began with the founding 
of the colony. It was the first American city to build 
ships and was also the home of the steamboat. The first 
boat to be propelled by steam was built by John Fitch in 
Philadelphia in 1786. This was more than twenty years 
before Robert Fulton had his first steamboat on the 






PHILADELPHIA 


73 


Hudson River. Robert Fulton, who was a Pennsyl¬ 
vanian by birth, also lived at one time in Philadelphia. 
Shipbuilding, to-day, is one of the city’s great industries. 

The art of printing has been practiced in Philadelphia 
since the very beginning of its history. William Bradford, 
one of the first colonists, published an almanac for the 
year 1687. This was the first work printed in Phila¬ 
delphia. Benjamin Franklin entered the printing business 
in Philadelphia in 1723, and six years later published the 



A PRESENT-DAY LOCOMOTIVE 


Pennsylvania Gazette. This was the second newspaper 
printed in the colony, the first being the American 
Weekly Mercury, the first edition of which was printed 
in Philadelphia in 1719. Both of these papers were very 
small and would appear very odd alongside of the daily 
papers of to-day. The first complete edition of the Bible 
printed in the United States was published by Chris¬ 
topher Saur in Germantown, which is now a part of 
Philadelphia, in 1743. Philadelphia ranks first among 
the cities of the United States in the publication of 




74 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



scientific books and law books. One of the large publish¬ 
ing houses of the city now uses over a million dollars’ 
worth of paper each year. It is interesting to know that 
when the Revolutionary War began there were forty 
paper mills in and near Philadelphia. At that time, and for 

many years after, it 
was the great liter¬ 
ary center of the 
country. 

When William 
Penn founded his 
Quaker town in 
the wilderness, he 
made little provi¬ 
sion for parks, as 
at that time the 
town was so small 
and was so sur¬ 
rounded by forests 
that no parks were 
needed. But Phila¬ 
delphia now pos- 
in fairmount park sesses the largest 

park in the United 

States. This is known as Fairmount Park, which covers 
over three thousand acres of land. Splendid paths and 
driveways give access to every section of this park. On 
all sides one sees beautiful landscape gardening, fine old 
trees, and picturesque streams and bridges. Here is a 
great open amphitheater where concerts are given during 
the summer months; here are athletic fields, playgrounds, 




PHILADELPHIA 


75 


race courses, and splendid stretches of water for rowing; 
and here also for many years were located the immense 
waterworks which pumped the city’s water supply from 
the Schuylkill River. 

Among the famous buildings in the park are Memorial 
Hall and Horticultural Hall. They were erected at the 
time of the great Centennial Exhibition, which was held 
in Philadelphia in 
1876 to celebrate the 
hundredth birthday 
of American inde¬ 
pendence. Memorial 
Hall is now used as 
an art gallery and city 
museum. Horticul¬ 
tural Hall contains 
a magnificent collec¬ 
tion of plants and 
botanical specimens, 
brought from many 
different countries. 

Another interesting building in Fairmount Park is the 
little brick house which was once the home of William 
Penn. It is said to have been the first brick house erected 
in Philadelphia. It stood on a lot south of Market Street, 
and between Front and Second streets. Some years ago it 
was moved from its original site to Fairmount Park, where 
thousands of people now visit it. Here too, before the 
Revolutionary War, was the home of Robert Morris, the 
great American financier, who, during that war, time and 
again raised money to pay the soldiers of the American army. 



ONCE THE HOME OF WILLIAM PENN 




76 GREAT CITIES OE THE UNITED STATES 


Many statues of American heroes ornament the drive¬ 
ways and walks of Fairmount Park. At the Green Street 
entrance stands one of the finest equestrian statues 

of Washington in 
the country. The 
carved base, which 
is made of granite 
and decorated with 
bronze figures, is 
approached by thir¬ 
teen steps, to rep¬ 
resent the original 
thirteen states. 

The streets of 
Philadelphia, while 
not broad, are well 
paved, and many of 
them are bordered 
by fine old trees. It 
was William Penn 
who named many 
of the streets after 
trees. The names 
of several of the streets in the oldest part of the town 
are recalled in the old refrain: 

Market, Arch, Race, and Vine, 

Chestnut, Walnut, Spruce, and Pine. 

Philadelphia is a city of homes. Besides its splendid 
residential suburbs, it has miles of streets lined with neat 
attractive houses where live the city’s busy workmen. 



LOOKING NORTH ON BROAD STREET 





BALLOON VIEW OF FA1 
RIVER, 1000 


RMOUNT PARK ANI) THE SCHUYLKILL 
FEET ABOVE THE GROUND 



PHILADELPHIA’S WASHINGTON MONUMENT 


77 










78 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


Perhaps the city hall is the most striking of the nota¬ 
ble buildings. It is a massive structure of marble and 
granite and stands at the intersection of Broad and 
Market streets. This immense building covers four and a 
half acres and is built in the form of a hollow square 



THE CITY HALL 


around an open court. The most attractive feature of the 
building is the great tower surmounted by an immense 
statue of William Penn. This lofty tower is nearly 
548 feet high and is 90 feet square at its base. It is 
67 feet higher than the great Pyramid of Egypt and 
nearly twice as high as the dome of the Capitol, at 
Washington. The Washington Monument exceeds it in 






PHILADELPHIA 


79 


height by but a few feet. The great statue of Penn is 
as tall as an ordinary three-story house and weighs over 
26 tons. It is cast of bronze and was made of 47 pieces 
so skillfully put together that the closest inspection can 
scarcely discover the seams. Around the head is a circle 
of electric lights throwing their brilliant illumination 
a distance of 30 
miles. To one gaz¬ 
ing upwards, the 
light seems a halo 
of glory about the 
head of the beloved 
founder of the city. 

Philadelphia has 
many fine schools, 
both public and pri¬ 
vate. The two most 
noted educational 
institutions are the 
University of Penn¬ 
sylvania and Girard 
College. The Uni¬ 
versity of Pennsyl¬ 
vania was founded 
largely through the efforts of Benjamin Franklin. It now 
occupies more than fifty buildings west of the Schuylkill 
River and is widely known as a center of learning. 

Girard College was the gift of Stephen Girard, who, 
from a humble cabin boy, became one of Philadelphia’s 
richest benefactors. The college is a charitable institution 
devoted to the education of orphan boys, who are admitted 



THE CITY-HALL STATUE OF PENN 









-* »reen- 


ChuT-c 


■♦Market 


itreet- 


Street- 


Tide peritij 


SCALE OF MILES 


^iiifdiinmii) 






PHILADELPHIA TO-DAY 

80 




































































































































































































































































































































































































































































PHILADELPHIA 


81 


to it between the ages of six and ten. Girard left almost 
his entire fortune of over $7,000,000 for the establishment 
of this great educational home for poor boys. Two millions 
of this sum were for the erection of the buildings alone. 

Other prominent educational institutions are the Penn 
Charter School, chartered by William Penn; the Academy 



THE UNITED STATES MINT 


of Fine Arts; The Drexel Institute for the promotion of 
art, science, and industry; the School of Industrial Art; 
the School of Design for Women; and several medical 
colleges which are among the most noted in the country. 

When the United States became an independent nation 
it was necessary to have a coinage system of its own. In 
1792 a mint was established in Philadelphia to coin 
money for the United States government. All of our 
















82 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


money is not now made in Philadelphia. The paper cur¬ 
rency is made in Washington, and there are mints for 
the coinage of gold, silver, and copper in San Francisco, 
Denver, and New Orleans as well as in Philadelphia. 

A visit to the 
Philadelphia mint 
is most interesting. 
Visitors are con¬ 
ducted through the 
many rooms of this 
great money factory 
and are shown the 
successive processes 
through which the 
gold, silver, nickel, 
and copper must pass 
before it becomes 
money. 

We first see the 
metal in the form 
of bars or bricks. 
In another room we 
find men at work 
melting the gold 
and mixing with it copper and other metals to strengthen 
it. Coins of pure gold would wear away very rapidly, and 
so these other metals are added. The prepared metal is 
cast into long strips, about the width and thickness of the 
desired coins. In still another room these strips are fed into 
a machine which punches out round pieces of the size and 
weight required. These disks are then carefully weighed 



OLD CHRIST CHURCH 




PHILADELPHIA 


83 


and inspected, after which they are taken to the coining 
room to receive the impression of figures and letters which 
indicates their value. One by one the blank disks are 
dropped between two steel dies. The upper die bears the 
picture and lettering which is to appear upon the face of the 
coin, and the lower, 
that which is to ap¬ 
pear on the reverse 
side. As the disk 
lies between them 
the two dies come to¬ 
gether, exerting an 
enormous pressure 
upon the cold metal. 

The pressure is then 
removed, and the 
bright disk drops 
from the machine, 
stamped with the im¬ 
pression which has 
changed this piece of 
metal into a coin of 
the United States. All coins are made in much the same way. 

In our brief visit we see many wonderful machines for 
counting, weighing, and sorting the thousands of coins 
which are daily produced in this busy place. At every 
step we are impressed with the great precautions taken to 
safeguard the precious materials handled. 

The old parts of Philadelphia are even more interesting 
than the mint, because of their historic associations. 
Within the distance of a few squares one may visit 



INDEPENDENCE HALL 





84 GBEA.T CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


famous buildings whose very names send thrills of pride 
through the heart of every good American. 

Old Christ Church, whose communion service was 
given by England’s Queen Anne in 1708, is perhaps the 
most noted of Philadelphia’s historic churches. In this 
old church Benjamin Franklin worshiped for many years, 
and when he died he was buried in its quaint church¬ 


yard. And here too 
George W ashington 
and John Adams 
worshiped when Phil¬ 
adelphia was the 
capital city. 



Carpenters’ Hall 
and Independence 
Hall ought to be 
known and remem¬ 
bered by every boy 
and girl in Amer¬ 
ica. When the Mas¬ 
sachusetts colonists 
held the Boston Tea 


THE LIBERTY BELL 


Party, England undertook to punish Massachusetts by 
closing her chief port. This meant ruin to Boston. All the 
English colonists in America were so aroused that they 
determined to call a meeting of representatives from each 
colony, to consider the wisest course of action and how to 
help Massachusetts. It was in Carpenters’ Hall that this 
first Continental Congress met, in September, 1774. The 
building was erected in 1770 as a meeting place for the 
house carpenters of Philadelphia — hence its name. 





PHILADELPHIA 


85 



On Chestnut Street stands the old statehouse, which 
is called Independence Hall because it was the birthplace 
of our liberty. Here it was that, when all hope of peace 
between the colonies 


and England had 
been given up, the 
colonial representa¬ 
tives met in 1776 in 
the Continental Con¬ 
gress and adopted the 
Declaration of In¬ 
dependence, which 
declared that Eng¬ 
land’s American col¬ 
onies should hence¬ 
forth be free and 
independent. While 
the members of Con¬ 
gress discussed the 
Declaration and its 
adoption, throngs 
packed the streets 
outside, impatiently 
waiting to know the 
result. At last the 
great bell rang out 
— the signal of the joyous news that the Declaration of 
Independence had been adopted. 

Independence Hall was built to be used as a state¬ 
house for the colony of Pennsylvania. The old building 
has been kept as nearly as possible in its original condition 


THE HOME OF BETSY BOSS 
















86 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 

* 

and is now considered "A National Monument to the 
Birth of the Republic.” This sacred spot is under the 
supervision of the Sons of the American Revolution and 
is used as the home of many historic relics. Among these 
may be found the Liberty Bell, which hung in the tower 
of the statehouse for many years. It was later removed 


THE FIRST UNITED STATES FLAG 

from the tower and placed on exhibition in the building. 
It has made many journeys to exhibitions in various cities, 
such as New Orleans, Atlanta, Chicago, Charleston, Boston, 
St. Louis, and San Francisco. The old bell is now shown 
in a glass case at the main entrance to Independence Hall. 

On Arch Street, not far from Independence Hall, is the 
little house where it is claimed the first American flag was 
made by Betsy Ross. 








PHILADELPHIA 


87 


For ten years, from 1790 to 1800, Philadelphia was the 
capital of the United States. In this city Washington and 
Adams were inaugurated for their second term as presi¬ 
dent and vice-president, and here Adams was inaugurated 
president in 1797. 

Philadelphia to-day is a great city: great in industry, 
great in commerce, and great in near-by resources. Every 
street of the old part of the town is rich in historic memo¬ 
ries. William Penn dreamed of a magnificent city, and the 
City of Brotherly Love is worthy of her founder’s dream. 


PHILADELPHIA 

FACTS TO REMEMBER 

Population (1910), over 1,500,000 (1,549,008). 

Third city in rank according to population. 

Place of great historic interest: 

Founded by William Penn. 

Home of Benjamin Franklin. 

First Continental Congress met here in 1774. 
Declaration of Independence signed here in 1776. 
Capital of the nation from 1790 to 1800. 

First United States mint located here. 

A great industrial and commercial center. 

Ranks third in the country as a manufacturing city. 
Principal industries: 

Leads the world in the making of woolen carpets. 
Has the largest locomotive works in the United States. 
Manufactures woolen and worsted goods. 

Ranks high in printing and publishing, the refining 
of sugar, and shipbuilding. 

Deep-water communication with the sea. 



88 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY 

1. When, how, and by whom was the site of Phila¬ 
delphia acquired? 

2. Compare the city of 1683 with that of to-day. 

3 . How does Philadelphia rank in size and manufactures 
among the great cities of the United States ? 

4 . Name several advantages which have helped to make 
the city a great industrial and commercial center. 

5 . What are the leading exports of the city ? 

6. Name some of the important industries of Philadelphia. 

7 . Tell what you can of Philadelphia’s great iron and 
steel works. 

8. Tell something of the history and the present impor¬ 
tance of printing in Philadelphia. 

9 . Give some interesting facts about the city’s great park. 

10. State briefly some of the things which may be seen in 
a visit to the mint. 

11. What events of great historical interest have taken 
place in Carpenters’ Hall and Independence Hall ? 



ST. LOUIS 


Soon after Thomas Jefferson became president of the 
United States, he bought from France the land known 
as Louisiana for $15,000,000. This sum seemed a great 
deal of money for a young nation to pay out, but the 
Louisiana Purchase covered nearly 900,000 square miles 
and extended from the Mississippi River to the Rocky 
Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. So 
when one stops to think that the United States secured 
the absolute control of the Mississippi and more than 
doubled its former area at a price less than three cents 
an acre, it is easier to understand why Jefferson bought 
than why France sold. 

When Louisiana became part of the United States in 
1803, St. Louis was a straggling frontier village, fre¬ 
quented mostly by boatmen and trappers. It had been 
established as a trading post back in 1764 by a party of 
French trappers from New Orleans, and had, from the 
first, monopolized the fur trade of the upper Mississippi 
and Missouri River country. Here hunters and trappers 
brought the spoils of distant forests. Here the surround¬ 
ing tribes of Indians came to trade with the friendly 

O 

89 

























90 GBEAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


French. Here countless open boats were loaded with 
skins and furs and then floated down the Mississippi. 

Notwithstanding this flourishing trade, the growth of 
the settlement was slow. In 1803 the population num¬ 
bered less than one thousand, made up of French trap¬ 
pers and hunters, a few other Europeans and Americans, 



and a considerable number of Indians, half-breeds, and 
negro slaves. 

But as soon as Louisiana belonged to the United States, 
a new era began in the West. Emigrants from the Eastern 
states poured over the Appalachian Mountains. St. Louis 
lay right in the path of this overland east-to-west travel. 
From here Lewis and Clark started, in 1804, on their 
famous exploring trip of nearly two years and a half, up 
the Missouri Eiver, to find out for the country what 







ST. LOUIS 


91 


Louisiana was like. It was here that emigrants headed 
for the Oregon country stopped to make final prepara¬ 
tions and lay in supplies. The remote trading post of 
the eighteenth century was suddenly transformed into a 
wide-awake bustling town. 

Furs were now no longer the only article of trade. 
The newly settled Mississippi valley was producing larger 



MISSISSIPPI RIVER BOATS 


crops each year. Because of the poor roads, overland 
transportation to the markets on the Atlantic was out 
of the question, and trade was dependent on the great 
inland waterways. Early in the century, keel boats and 
barges carried the products of field and forest down the 
Mississippi. Then came the arrival of the first steamboat, 
the real beginning of St. Louis’ great prosperity, working 









SCALE OF MILES 


Granite, 


ad ison 


Venice 


t. Louis 




ST. LOUIS AND HER ILLINOIS SUBURBS 

02 







































ST. LOUIS 


93 


wonders for this inland commerce whose growth kept pace 
with the marvelous development of the rich Middle West. 

St. Louis, lying on the west bank of the Mississippi, 
between the mouths of the Ohio and Missouri rivers 
and not far from the Illinois, became the natural center 
of this north-and-south river traffic. By 1860 it was the 
most important shipping point west of the Alleghenies. 

Meanwhile railroad building had begun in the West. 
Ground was broken in 1850 for St. Louis’ first railway, 



THE MUNICIPAL COURT BUILDING 


the Missouri Pacific. Other roads were begun during 
the next two years. In a short time the whole country 
was covered with a network of railroads, and a change in 
the methods of transportation followed. The steamboats 
were unable to compete with their new rivals in speed 
— a tremendous advantage in carrying passengers and 
perishable freight — and their former importance quickly 
grew less. 

St. Louis lost nothing by the change. Many of the 
cross-continent railroads, following the old pioneer trails, 




94 GBEAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


met here. To-day more than twenty-five railroads enter 
the city, connecting it with the remotest parts of the 
United States as well as with Canada and Mexico. 

St. Louis now has about 700,000 inhabitants and 
occupies nearly 65 square miles of land, which slopes 
gradually from the water’s edge to the plateau that 
stretches for miles beyond the western limits of the city. 





THE CITY HALL 


The city is laid out in broad straight streets, crossing 
each other at right angles wherever possible and numbered 
north and south from Market Street. 

The shopping district lies mainly between Broadway, — 
the fifth street from the river, — Twelfth Street, Pine 
Street, and Franklin Avenue. The financial center is on 
Fourth Street and Broadway, while Washington Avenue, 





ST. LOUIS 


95 


between Fourth and Eighteenth streets, is one of the 
greatest "wholesale rows” in the West. 

Besides its public schools — which include a teachers’ 
college — and private schools, St. Louis has two higher 
institutions of learning, Washington University and 
St. Louis University. 

Among the most important public buildings in the 
business section are the municipal court building, the 
city hall, the courthouse, and the public library. 



THE NEW CENTRAL LIBRARY 

The St. Louis Union Station, used by all railroads 
entering the city, is one of the largest and finest stations 
in the world. Pneumatic tubes connect it with the post 
office and the customhouse, while underground driveways 
and passages for handling bulky freight, express, and 
mail matter radiate from it in all directions. 

Almost directly west of the business section, on the 
outskirts of the city, lies Forest Park, the largest of 
St. Louis’ many recreation grounds. It covers more than 












96 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


thirteen hundred acres of field and forest land, left largely 
in a natural state. Here is the City Art Museum, which 
was part of the Art Palace of the world’s fair held in 
St. Louis in 1904 to celebrate the centennial of the 

Louisiana Purchase. 

The beautiful Mis¬ 
souri Botanical'Gar¬ 
den, generally known 
as Shaw’s Garden, is 
open for the use of 
the public. Compton 
Hill Reservoir Park, 
on the South Side, 
though small, is one 
of the finest in the 
city. Its water tower 
and basins are a 
part of the muni¬ 
cipal water system, 
costing more than 
130,000,000. The 
city water is pumped 
from the Mississippi 
River and purified as it passes into great settling basins. 

Though St. Louis’ attractive houses are found almost 
everywhere outside the strictly business quarters, the real 
residence section has gradually been growing toward 
Forest Park, and many of the city’s business men have 
built homes in the suburbs beyond the western limits of 
the city. One of these suburbs, University City, bids fair 
to become America’s most beautiful residence town. 



THE UNION STATION 





ST. LOUIS 


97 


Unlike most of our large cities, St. Louis has no sharply 
defined factory district. Its manufacturing establishments 
are distributed over nearly the whole city. An important 
part of its manufacturing interests centers on the eastern 
bank of the Mississippi hi the city's Illinois suburbs. 

The industrial development of these Illinois suburbs 
was greatly increased by the opening of the Eads Bridge 
in 1874. Before this time there had been no bridge con¬ 
nection over the Mississippi. Passengers and freight ferries 





THE ART MUSEUM 

had plied regularly between St. Louis and her suburbs 
across the river, but there were seasons when floating 
ice made the river impassable, sometimes cutting off 
communication between the two shores for days. 

The Eads Bridge is 6220 feet long and is so built that 
the railroad tracks cross it on a level lower than the car¬ 
riage drives and foot paths. With its completion, communi¬ 
cation between opposite sides of the river became as easy 
as between different parts of the city. 

Other bridges have since been built. In 1890 the 
Merchants Bridge, used solely by railroads, was built across 







98 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



w 

o 

c 

s 


w 

w 

a 




the Mississippi three miles 
to the north of Eads Bridge, 
and now there is the McKin¬ 
ley Bridge between the two. 
In addition to these the city 
is building a bridge which, 
when completed, will be 
open to traffic without toll 
charges. 

Among the Illinois sub¬ 
urbs thus brought into 
closer touch with the west¬ 
ern side of the river are 
East St. Louis, — a grow¬ 
ing city of about 75,000,— 
Venice, Madison, Granite 
City, and Belleville. Being 
principally manufacturing 
communities, these cities 
contribute in no small de¬ 
gree to St. Louis’ impor¬ 
tance as an industrial center. 

St. Louis’ importance, 
however, is mainly due to 
the city’s favorable location 
at the heart of one of the 
world’s richest river valleys. 
The vast natural resources 
of the Middle West are at 
her command. Raw mate¬ 
rials of every kind abound 






A PUBLIC BATH 























100 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


almost at her door. Missouri ranks high as an agricul¬ 
tural and mining state. Its position in the great corn 
belt makes hog raising a highly profitable industry. The 
prairies to the north furnish extensive grazing areas for 
cattle. The Ozark Mountains to the southwest afford 
excellent pasturage for sheep and yield lumber as well 
as great quantities of lead, zinc, and other minerals. In 



A MISSOURI COAL MINE 


addition, the state has large deposits of soft coal, while 
only the Mississippi separates St. Louis from the un¬ 
limited supply of the Illinois coal fields. As a result, 
the cost of manufacturing is low and the city’s many 
and varied industries thrive. Chief among these is the 
manufacture of boots and shoes. Though this business 
is comparatively young in the West, St. Louis already 
ranks among the three leading footwear-producing cities 







ST. LOUIS 


101 



of the country, turning out over $50,000,000 worth of 
boots and shoes yearly. Most of these are of the heavier 
type made for country trade, but the output of finer foot¬ 
wear is steadily increasing. 

Next in importance are the tobacco, meat-packing, and 
malt-liquor industries. St. Louis is one of the leading 
cities in the country in the manufacture of tobacco. The 


MAKING SHOES 

meat-packing establishments, including those in East St. 
Louis, hold fourth place among America’s great packing 
centers. Its mammoth breweries lead the country in the 
output of beer. Flour mills, foundries, and sugar refineries 
also do an immense business. Street and railroad cars, 
stoves of all kinds, paints, oils, and white lead are made 
in scores of factories, while hundreds of other industries 
flourish in the city, making it one of the greatest work¬ 
shops in the United States. 







102 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


Important as St. Louis is as a manufacturing city, it is 
even more noted as a distributing center, its location mak¬ 
ing it the natural commercial metropolis of the Mississippi 
valley. It markets not only its own manufactures but 
products which represent every section of the country. 
The vast territory to the west and southwest depends 
almost entirely on St. Louis for its supply of dry goods 



MULES IN A STOCKYARD 


and groceries. Other staples are boots and shoes, tobacco, 
hardware, timber, cotton, breadstuffs, cattle, and hogs. 

In the handling of furs St. Louis leads the cities of 
the world. She also holds a high place among the great 
grain markets. In this country her annual receipts of 
corn, wheat, and oats are exceeded only by those of 
Chicago and Minneapolis. Shipments of grain and bread- 
stuffs to Central and South America, Cuba, Great Britain, 
and Germany constitute the city’s leading exports. 





ST. LOUIS 


108 


As a live-stock market it is no less important. The 
National Stockyards, located on the Illinois side of the 
river, contain several hundred acres. Though packing 
houses and slaughtering houses occupy some of this land, 
the main part is covered with sheds, pens, and enclosures 
for the reception and sale of live animals. Millions of 
cattle, hogs, and sheep are handled here every year. 
St. Louis also buys and sells hundreds of thousands of 
horses and mules, being the largest market for draft 
animals in the world. 

Just as the frontier trading post of the eighteenth 
century grew into the thriving river port of the nine¬ 
teenth, so the river port of the nineteenth century has 
developed into one of the leading railroad and commercial 
centers of the twentieth. And the fourth city of America 
in size is now St. Louis. 


ST. LOUIS 

FACTS TO REMEMBER 

Population (1910), nearly 700,000 (687,029). 

Fourth city according to population. 

Well located; center of the Mississippi valley, between 
the mouths of the Missouri and Ohio rivers. 

Important shipping point by rail and water. 

A great railroad center. 

The leading market in the world for furs and draft 
animals. 

One of the greatest boot-and-shoe-manufacturing centers. 

One of the chief markets in the United States for grain, 
flour, and live stock. 



104 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY 

1. Why did Jefferson buy the country included in the 
Louisiana Purchase ? 

2. Give a brief account of the Louisiana Purchase; from 
whom purchased, the cost, the territory included. 

3. Tell what you know of St. Louis before the Louisiana 
Purchase. 

4. What brought about the sudden and rapid growth of 
St. Louis after the purchase ? 

5. What effect did the railroads have upon St. Louis’ 
water transportation ? Why ? 

6. Describe the St. Louis Union Station. 

7. What three bridges were built across the Mississippi 
at St. Louis, and why? 

8. To what does St. Louis owe her importance as an 
industrial center? 

9. In what lines does St. Louis lead the world ? 

10. Name some of the products sent to St. Louis from 
the neighboring country. 

11. What are some of her most important industries ? 

12. Name some of the things which St. Louis supplies to 
other sections of the country. 

13. In what business has St. Louis held an important place 
from its beginning ? 

14. By consulting a map, find what great railroad systems 
run to St. Louis. 



Let us take a trip to New England and visit Boston. 
Boston is New England’s chief city in size, in population, 
in historic interest, and in importance. It is the capital of 
Massachusetts and the fifth city in size in the United 
States. 

If we were going to visit some far-away cousins whom 
we had never seen, we should surely want to know some¬ 
thing about their age, their appearance, and their habits. 
Would it not be just as interesting to find out these 
things about the city we are to see on our journey ? 

In the early days the Indians called the district where 
Boston now stands Shawmut, or " living waters.” The 
first white man to come to Shawmut was William Black- 
stone, a hermit who made his home on the slope of what 
is now Beacon Hill. Though Blackstone liked to be 
alone, he was unselfish. So when he heard that the set¬ 
tlers of a Puritan colony not far away were suffering for 
want of pure water, he went to their governor, John Win- 
throp, " acquainted him with the excellent spring of water 
that was on his land and invited him and his followers 
thither.” Blackstone’s offer was gladly accepted. The 

105 

























100 


MAP OF BOSTON AND ITS VICINITY 

















































BOSTON 


107 


Puritans purchased Shawmut from the Indians and in 
1630 began their new settlement, which they named 
Boston in honor of the English town which had been the 
home of some of their leading men. 

Originally Boston was a little irregular peninsula of 
scarcely 700 acres, entirely cut off from the mainland at 
high tide. It did not take the colonists long, however, to 
outgrow these narrow quarters. They soon filled in the 
marshes and coves with land from the hills. They spread 
out over two small islands and made them part of Boston. 
Then, one by one, they took in neighboring settlements. 
And from this start Boston has grown, until to-day it has 
an area of about 43 square miles and a population of 
nearly 700,000. 

We must get a clear idea of these various districts of 
Boston. If not, we shall be puzzled to meet friends from 
Roxbury or Dorchester and hear them say that they live 
in Boston. There is Boston proper, the old Boston before 
it annexed its neighbors; East Boston, comprising two 
islands in the harbor which joined Boston in 1635 and 
1637; then-, annexed from time to time, come Roxbury, 
Dorchester, Charlestown, — the scene of the Battle of 
Bunker Hill,—West Roxbury, and Brighton; and last, 
Hyde Park, which, by the vote of its people and the citi¬ 
zens of Boston, joined the city in November, 1911. These 
have all kept their original names, but have given up their 
local governments to share Boston’s larger privileges and 
advantages. So remember that when we meet friends 
from Roxbury, West Roxbury, Dorchester, Brighton, East 
Boston, South Boston, or Hyde Park, they are all Boston 
people. The children from these districts would resent it 


108 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


if they were not known as Boston boys and girls just as 
much as those who live in the very heart of the city. 

While we have been reading all this, our boat has been 
drawing closer to the city, and now we must gather up our 
wraps and bags and be ready to start out. We see a very 
busy harbor, its noisy tugs drawing the sullen-looking coal 

barges; its graceful 
schooners loaded to 
the water’s edge 
with lumber; and 
its fishing boats with 
their dirty sails, not 
attractive but doing 
the work that has 
placed Boston first in 
importance as a fish¬ 
ing port. Crowded 
steamers and ferry¬ 
boats pass swiftly 
by, while huge ocean 
steamships may be seen poking their noses out from their 
docks at East Boston and South Boston or heading toward 
the city with their thousands of eager passengers. 

As we hurry along with our fellow travelers we must 
decide how best to reach our hotel. There are taxicabs 
and carriages for some; electric cars, both surface and 
elevated, for the many. Boston has excellent car and train 
service. The Boston Elevated Railway Company controls 
most of the car lines in the city as well as in the out¬ 
lying towns. This makes it possible for us to ride for 
a nickel an average distance of at least five miles. 














109 


B1KI)’S-EYE VIEW OF BOSTON 










110 GREAT CITIES OE THE UNITED STATES 


A line of elevated trains running across the city con¬ 
nects West Roxbury on the south with Charlestown on 
the north. Some of these trains pass through the Wash¬ 
ington Street tunnel, from which numerous well-lighted, 
well-ventilated stations lead directly to the shopping and 
business section of the city. On this elevated road are two 
huge terminal stations, into which rush countless surface 
cars, bringing from all points north and south the immense 
crowds of suburbanites who come to Boston proper each 
day, to work or on pleasure bent. 

Chelsea folks come to the city by ferry or by electric 
car, while those from East Boston have two ferry lines as 
well as a tunnel for cars under the harbor. 

The city proper has two immense union railroad depots, 
the North and the South station, where hundreds of local, 
as well as long-distance, trains leave and arrive each day. 
The railroads entering Boston are the Boston & Albany, 
which, by means of the New York Central lines, connects 
with the West; the Boston & Maine, leading northward 
to Maine and Canada; and the New York, New Haven & 
Hartford, which connects by way of New York with various 
points in the South. 

All these transportation advantages have made Boston 
an excellent place in which to live, as its suburbs afford 
the benefits of country life while yet they are within a 
few minutes’ ride of a big city. 

There are several ways in which we can see Boston. 
We may climb into one of the great sight-seeing autos 
and ride from point to point while the man with the mega¬ 
phone calls our attention to the interesting landmarks 
and gives their history; we can engage a guide who will 


BOSTON 


111 


take us from place to place; or we can simply follow the 
directions of our guide book. 

No trip to Boston is complete without a visit to the 
State House, or capitol, whose gilded dome is seen glitter¬ 
ing in the sunlight by day and sparkling with electric 
lights by night, it is situated on Beacon Hill, the highest 
point of land in the city proper. Up to 1811 one peak of 



THE SOUTH STATION 


the hill was as high as the gilded dome is now, and on its 
summit a beacon was set up as early as 1684, to warn 
the people in the surrounding country of approaching dis¬ 
aster. It seems, however, that the beacon was never used, 
and during the Revolution the British pulled it down and 
built a fort in its place. 

Even if there were no gilded dome on the State House, 
the building itself is handsome enough to attract atten¬ 
tion. It was designed in 1795 by Charles Bulfinch, a 
famous architect. The front of the building to-day is the 







112 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


historic Bulfinch front. But as Boston grew, so also did 
the State House, and additions were made in 1853, in 
1889, and in 1915, until now we have the impressive 
building we are about to enter. 

But stop after climbing the main steps, turn around, 
and look at the green field before you. This is Boston 



DRILLING ON THE COMMON 


Common, the famous Boston Common where the people 
of long ago used to pasture their cows; where the British 
in the early days of the Revolution set up their fortified 
camps during the siege of Boston ; and where, at the pres¬ 
ent time, the admiring relatives of the high-school boys 
assemble yearly to see them go through their military 
drill. Situated as it is in the very heart of the city, 






BOSTON 


113 


Boston Common is the resting place, the breathing place, 
for thousands. It is the people’s playground. Fireworks, 
band concerts, public speaking, all prove that its public 
character has never been lost, and that it is now as much 
of a Common as it was in 1G49, when it was first laid out. 
By a wise clause in the city charter, this Common cannot 
be sold or leased without the consent of the citizens. 



A CORNER OF THE COMMON, SHOWING THE SHAW MEMORIAL 


The Common contains many memorials erected by a 
grateful people. The most conspicuous is the Army and 
Navy Monument, which reaches far above the trees. 
Directly opposite the State House is the Shaw Memorial, 
a wonderful bronze bas-relief by Saint Gaudens, showing 
the gallant Colonel Shaw and his colored regiment. 

The sight of Shaw’s earnest young face amid his dusky 
followers prepares us for entering Doric Hall in the State 
House, set apart as a memorial for those who died in their 
country’s cause. We look with awe and reverence on the 






114 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


flags whose worn and tattered edges tell plainly of the 
struggles of their bearers and defenders. 

Let us peep into the Senate chamber and into the hall 
of the House of Representatives with its historic codfish 
suspended from the ceiling, a reminder of a most humble 
source of Massachusetts’ wealth. We will then climb to 
the dome and see Boston before a cold east wind sweeps 



THE STATE-HOUSE CODFISH 


suddenly in, covering the city with fog and making all 
misty and uncertain. As we reach the highest point, it 
really seems as if the fog had rolled in, but it is only 
a fog of smoke from the many chimneys of the city’s 
countless factories. 

As our eyes get accustomed to the view, the mist seems 
to roll away, and the city lies before us. That blue line 
to the east is the harbor, and between us and the harbor 













THE STATE HOUSE 


115 














116 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


is the business section of Boston, the noisy, throbbing 
heart of a big city. Directly back of us as we stand 
facing the water is the West End, once a fashionable 

section where Bos¬ 
ton’s literary men 
held court, now a 
district largely given 
over to tenements 
and lodging-houses. 
To the north and 
south lie the North 
and South ends; the 
former, the oldest 
of the city and the 
great foreign dis¬ 
trict of the present 
time, where children 
from many lands 
have their homes. 

That broad wind¬ 
ing stream of water 
that we see is the 
Charles River. Just 
beyond it to the 
north is Charles¬ 
town, its Bunker 
Hill Monument towering up for all to see. The city of 
Cambridge is just across the Charles River to the west, 
and next to it, skirting the southern bank of the river, 
is the district of Brighton. South Boston, Roxbury, West 
Roxbury, Hyde Park, and Dorchester lie toward the south. 



BUNKER HILL MONUMENT 






BOSTON 


117 



Among the many islands in the harbor, East Boston is the 
most crowded and the closest to the city proper. Towards 
the southwest, be¬ 


tween us and the 
Charles, lies Back 
Bay, once tidewater 
but now filled in 
and made into land. 

Look around you 
and notice how the 
surrounding parts of 
Boston form a chain 
about their parent, 
a chain broken only 
by Cambridge—the 
seat of Harvard 
University — and 
Brookline,— M assa- 
chusetts’ wealthiest 
town, — which re¬ 
fuses to become a 
city or to join its 
larger neighbor. 

As we leave the 
State House, a few 
minutes’walk brings 
us to the heart of 
Boston’s great shop¬ 
ping district and to 
Boston’s leading business street. You will be glad to 
know that this street is called neither Main Street nor 






























118 






























































































































BOSTON 


119 


Broadway, but Washington Street. Originally, part was 
known as Orange, part as Marlborough, and part as New¬ 
bury. But when, at the close of the Revolution, Wash¬ 
ington rode through the city at the head of a triumphal 
procession, the people renamed the street along which he 
passed, Washington, and so it is called to-day in all its 
ten miles of length. Washington Street is very narrow 
in parts, and as it is lined on both sides with some of 
Boston’s largest and finest department stores, it presents 
a very animated appearance on a week-day afternoon. 

Stop for a moment on busy Newspaper Row. Here a 
bystander may read the news of the world as it is posted 
hourly upon the great bulletin boards of the various 
newspaper offices. 

Parallel to Washington Street, and connected with it 
by many short streets, is Tremont Street, another old his¬ 
toric road. Originally Tremont Street was a path outlined 
by William Blackstone’s cows on their way to pasture; 
now it is second only to Washington Street in importance. 

Washington Street is really the main dividing line be¬ 
tween the retail and wholesale parts of the city. The 
water front is the great wholesale section. Here there is 
a constant odor of leather in the air, and great heavy 
wagons laden with hides are continually passing to and 
from the wharves and stations. When we stop and con¬ 
sider that Boston and the neighboring cities of Brockton 
and Lynn are among the largest shoe-manufacturing cities 
in the world, then we do not wonder at the leather we 
see. It is no vain boast to say that in every quarter of 
the world may be seen shoes that once, in the form of 
leather, were carted through the streets of Boston. 



120 



















BOSTON 


121 


What is true of leather is also true of cotton and wool. 
Lowell, Fall River, and New Bedford are calling for 
cotton to be made into cloth in their busy mills, while 
Lawrence is the greatest wool-manufacturing city in the 
country. Boston, with its harbor and great railroad 
terminals, is constantly receiving these materials and 
distributing them to these cities. 

The finished cloths often return to Boston to be cut 
and made into clothes, and an army of men and women 
cut and sew from day to day on garments for people far 
distant from Boston as well as for those near home. 

One glance at the wharves along Atlantic Avenue and 
Commercial Street and our glimpse of busy Boston will 
be ended. Here are wharves and piers jutting out into 
the harbor, where are boats of every kind from every 
land. New York alone among American cities outranks 
Boston in the value of her foreign commerce. From one 
large steamer thousands of green bananas are being carried. 
They will be sold to the many fruit dealers, from those 
whose show windows are visions of beauty, to the Greek 
or Italian peddler who pushes his hand cart out into the 
suburbs. 

Some of the steamers are already puffing with impor¬ 
tance as if to hasten the steps of travelers who are on 
their way to board ship for different ports in the South, 
for Nova Scotia and other points north, or perhaps to 
cross the Atlantic. 

Two of the wharves —T Wharf and the new fishing pier 
— are devoted to the fishing industry. From the banks 
of Newfoundland and the other splendid fishing grounds 
along the coast from Cape Cod to Labrador, fishermen 


122 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITEU STATES 


are constantly bringing their catches to Boston, their chief 
market. In addition, Gloucester and other fishing ports 
re-ship most of the fish brought to them to the Boston 
market. Is it any wonder that Boston ranks first of all 
the cities of the United States in the fish trade? In 1910 



A FISHING FLEET 


Boston received and marketed f10,500,000 worth of fish 
— more than any other American city, and exceeded by 
only one other port in the world. 

In this neighborhood too is a tablet marking the site 
of Griffin’s Wharf, where the Boston Tea Party of the 
Revolution took place. We remember how the people of 
Boston refused to pay the tax on tea; how the shiploads 














© Dadmuu Co. Boston 


BOSTON’S NEW CUSTOMHOUSE 













124 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



of tea sent from England remained unloaded at the wharf; 
and how, finally, after an indignation meeting had been held 

at the Old South Meet¬ 
ing House, a band of 
men and boys, disguised 
as Indians, boarded the 
vessels, ripped open the 
chests, and emptied all 
the cargo into the har¬ 
bor. It was rightly called 
the Boston Tea Party. 

As we are so close to 
the North End, we may 
as well go there at once. 
The North End is the 
oldest section of Boston. 
It was here that Samuel 
Adams, John Hancock, 
Paul Revere, and other 
patriots had their head¬ 
quarters during the trou¬ 
blous times before the 
Revolution. Paul Re¬ 
vere, of whose famous 
ride we have all read 
in Longfellow’s poem, 
old north church lived and carried on his 

business in this very dis¬ 
trict. If we wish, we can see his home as well as the 
famous Old North Church, where his friend hung the 
lanterns warning him of the movements of the British. 













BOSTON 


125 



But to-day there is little else to remind us of the past. 
As we cross North Square and see the gesticulating, 
dark-skinned men, the stout, gayly kerchiefed women in 
the doorways, and the hordes of dark-eyed children on 
street and sidewalk, we wonder if by mistake we have 
not entered some city in southern Europe. To-day the 


THE NORTH END 

North End of Boston is the great foreign section of the 
city. Here live the Jews, Italians, and Russians. They 
tell us that more than one third of the entire population 
of the city are foreigners. 

But when a group of boys rushes toward us, each beg¬ 
ging to be our guide to the Old North Church, to Paul 
Revere’s house, or to the famous Copp’s Hill Burying 








126 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 

Ground, — all for a nickel,—we are sure we are in America 
and gladly follow our leader through the narrow, crooked 
streets. 

From among the parents of these children come the 
fruit peddlers, the clothing makers, the street musicians, 

and the great army 
of laborers which 
helps to keep the 
city in repair. 

Are we tired of 
the noise and confu¬ 
sion of the crowded 
tenement district ? 
If so, let us go to 
the broad streets 
and beautiful parks 
of the Back Bay, 
the abode of the 
wealthy. The Back 
Bay, as its name sug¬ 
gests, was originally 
the Back Cove, and 
where these houses 
now stand, the 
waves once danced in glee. But Boston filled in the 
marshes and coves and laid out fine streets on the newly 
made land. Here is the famous Beacon Street, and par¬ 
allel to it is Boston’s most beautiful thoroughfare, — 
Commonwealth Avenue, — two hundred and twenty feet 
wide, with a parkway running through the center. See 
the children with their nurses, playing on the grass or 



PAUL KEVEllE’S HOUSE 







BOSTON 


127 


roller skating on the broad sidewalks, apparently no 
happier than the little ones of the North End. 

But it is not merely its fine streets and homes that 
make the Back Bay the handsomest part of the city. In 
this section are many of Boston’s finest public buildings. 
Come to Copley Square, the most beautiful in the city. 



COMMONWEALTH AVENUE 


Here stands Trinity Church, — Phillips Brooks’ church,— 
a magnificent structure of granite with sandstone trim¬ 
mings. Phillips Brooks was for a brief year the Protes¬ 
tant Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts. lie was loved by 
those of all denominations. After his death the citizens of 
Boston united in erecting a splendid memorial, in token 
of their love for him and their gratitude for his services. 
The statue is by Augustus Saint Gaudens and is con¬ 
sidered one of the greatest works of that great sculptor. 

On Copley Square we see also the New Old South 
Church and the Boston Public Library. 



128 GEE AT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



Boston is very proud of her public library, and rightly 
so, for it is not only one of the finest buildings in Boston 
but also one of the finest libraries in the country. Look at 
the magnificent marble staircase, the curiously inlaid floor 

and ceiling of the 
entrance hall, the 
graceful statues, 
the wonderful paint¬ 
ings, and the fine 
courtyard with its 
sparkling fountain. 
On the floors above 
are the children’s 
room with its low 
tables and chairs 
and rows upon rows 
of interesting books; 
Bates Hall, a most 
attractive reading 
room; Sargent’s mys¬ 
tical paintings; and 
Edwin A. Abbey’s 
series of paintings, 
which are called 
Phillips brooks’ memorial " The Quest of the 

Holy Grail.” 

Besides the main library there are branch libraries or 
reading rooms in every section of the city. Altogether 
the Boston Public Library contains over one million 
volumes, making it the largest circulating library in the 
United States. 








BOSTON 


129 


But there are other buildings in the Back Bay which 
rival those on Copley Square. We should see the Christian 
Science church with its massive dome; the Boston Opera 
House; and Symphony Hall, the home of the famous 
Boston Symphony Orchestra, known the country over. 



BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 


The Boston Museum of Fine Arts stood originally on 
Copley Square, but in 1909 a new and magnificent build¬ 
ing was opened, farther out in the Back Bay. Not far 
from the new museum stands the Harvard Medical School, 
an imposing group of five white-marble buildings. 

But now we are tired of buildings, so come into the 
Public Garden — the gateway to the Back Bay — and 








130 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


while you rest I will tell you about Boston’s parks. 
Sitting in the beautiful Public Garden, it will not be 
hard for you to believe that the park system of Boston 
is the finest in the country. The first park was, as we 
have seen, the Common. For many years the Common 
was not a place of beauty. Edward Everett Hale spoke 
of it as a "pasture for cows, a playground for children, 
a training ground for the militia, a place for beating 
carpets.” Many changes have taken place on the Common 
since the old days, but two of the characteristics still re¬ 
main. Boston Common is still a playground for children, 
and military drills are still to be seen there from time 
to time. 

The Common is just across Charles Street from the 
Public Garden — the second great park to be laid out in 
Boston. This Public Garden was reclaimed from the 
marshes, and at present covers about twenty-four and a 
half acres. It is truly a garden, and during the spring, 
summer, and fall nearly every species of beautiful flower, 
plant, and shrub may here be seen — a riot of color and 
beauty. 

But the people of Boston did not stop even with the 
Public Garden. The city of Boston has, besides, numerous 
small squares at intervals through the city. She also has 
vast tracts of rural land, which, unlike the Public Garden, 
are left to their own wild beauty. Owing to Boston’s 
expanse of water front, it is possible for her to have both 
inland and ocean parks, where may be found all kinds 
of open-air sports and recreations. 

Some of the most important of these parks are Franklin 
Park, the Fens, the Arnold Arboretum, Marine Park, and 


BOSTON 


131 


the Charles River Basin. In the Arnold Arboretum, the 
property of Harvard College, are rare shrubs and trees. 
Fortunate is the one who can visit it in lilac time, when 
scores of varieties of lilacs, both white and many shades 
of violet, scent the air with their delicate perfumes. 

The best example of the ocean parkways is Marine Park. 
There one finds extensive bathhouses, a good beach, lawns, 
and a long pier extending several hundred feet out into 
the water. Connected with Marine Park by a long bridge 
is Castle Island, the site of Fort Independence. 

The Charles River Basin is a popular promenade. This 
river, until recently, showed for many hours of the day 
the uncovered mud flats of low tide. Now by means of 
a dam it has been turned into a great fresh-water lake. 
Cambridge and Boston have laid out parkways on either 
side of the river, and before long further improvements 
will make this basin even more attractive. 

Through the influence of Boston the surrounding cities 
and towns have given certain large areas of great natural 
beauty to form the Metropolitan Park System. This Met¬ 
ropolitan Park System consists of 3 forest reserves of 
7000 acres of woodland, 30 miles of river park, 10 miles 
of seacoast, and 40 miles of connecting parkways. 

Two great ocean parks in the system are Revere Beach 
and Nantasket, both favorite summer resorts, while the 
most noted inland reservations are the Blue Hills and 
the Middlesex Fells. 

A Roman matron of long ago, when asked to show her 
jewels, pointed to her sons with pride, saying, " These are 
my jewels.” And so it is with Boston. She is proud of her 
history, her fine public buildings, her busy thoroughfares, 


132 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


her parks, her great centers of industry, and her com¬ 
merce; but most of all, she is proud of her more than 
ninety thousand school children. 

From the earliest times Boston’s schools have ranked 
among the best in the country. The first public school 
in America was established in Dorchester, and some of 



© Leon Dadinun, Boston, llXlo 

THE HARVARD YARD 


the greatest educators, such as Horace Mann and Charles 
W. Eliot, have been associated with Boston or its suburbs. 

Boston is the home of the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology, a famous training college in applied sciences; 
Simmons College for women; the Harvard Medical Col¬ 
lege ; Boston College (Roman Catholic) ; Boston Univer¬ 
sity ; the Normal Art School; the Conservatory of Music ; 
the Emerson School of Oratory; and other schools of 
high standing. Harvard, the oldest and largest university 




BOSTON 


133 


in the country, has its home in Cambridge. Radcliffe, a 
college for women, whose pupils receive the same courses 
of instruction as the students in Harvard, is also in 
Cambridge. Tufts College is in the neighboring city of 
Medford, while in the beautiful hill town of Wellesley, 
a suburb of Boston, is Wellesley College, a woman’s 
college of high rank. 

But now, if we hurry, we shall be just in time to see 
the children flocking in crowds to one of their many play¬ 
grounds. Here they find swings and other apparatus for 
sport; and here they may play tennis, baseball, or football 
in the spring, summer, and fall. In the winter months 
they may make use of the ice, which is kept in good con¬ 
dition for the skater. In the various districts, also, are 
swimming pools and indoor gymnasiums, where old and 
young meet for recreation as well as for physical training. 

Having seen Boston at work and at play, we now ask 
ourselves where the food comes from to feed this vast 
multitude. Its meats, flour, and grain of all kinds are 
brought into its huge freight stations from the West. Its 
great ocean trade with the ports in the South as well as 
in Europe and Asia supplies other food necessities and 
luxuries. New England is a great dairy center, and much 
of the city’s milk, butter, and other dairy products comes 
to Boston each morning from New Hampshire, Vermont, 
and western Massachusetts. The purity of the milk is 
carefully watched, and it is impossible to buy even a pint 
of milk in anything but a sealed jar. 

Boston’s drinking-water is equally well guarded. The 
water, as well as the sewage, is under the control of the 
Metropolitan Water and Sewage Commission. There is a 


134 GEE AT CITIES OE THE UNITED STATES 


high-pressure distributing station at Chestnut Hill, which 
gives power sufficient to force water to the highest of 
Boston’s buildings. 

The sewage of the down-town sections of the city is 
collected in a main drainage system, pumped through a 
tunnel under Dorchester Bay to Moon Island, held in 
large reservoirs, and discharged into the water when the 
tide is going out. The sewage of the outlying districts is 
conveyed to various places in the harbor and discharged 
into the water at a depth of thirty or forty feet, where 
it can be quickly carried out to sea. 

Our stay in Boston is now at an end. Not only have 
we traveled over many miles of her streets and visited 
her famous State House, her busy wharves, and her in¬ 
teresting playgrounds, but we have reviewed many events 
of her thrilling history. What of all we have seen or 
heard is it most important for us to remember? First, 
that Boston is the fifth city in size in the United States; 
second, that she is the capital city of Massachusetts; 
third, that she is the chief trade center of N ew England; 
and fourth, that among America’s cities she ranks second 
only to New York in foreign commerce. Then we must 
not forget the important place she holds in the early 
history of our country. 

As we traveled into Boston, so we will journey out 
again. And with the last of the great city fading from 
our view, we call to mind the large-hearted Blackstone 
and say to ourselves, " Quite a change from the hermit’s 
home on the sunny slope of Beacon Hill.” 


BOSTON 


135 


BOSTON 

FACTS TO REMEMBER 

Population (1910), nearly 700,000 (670,585). 

Fifth in rank according to population. 

Banks first among American cities in fish and wool trades. 
Chief trade center of New England. 

Principal industries (as measured by value of products) : 
Printing and publishing; manufacture of boots and 
shoes, of clothing, of foundry and machine-shop 
products. 

Place of great historical interest. 

One of the leading educational centers of the United 
States. 


QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AN1) STUDY 

1. Tell something of the settlement and the early history 
of Boston. 

2. Tell of the Boston Tea Party. 

3. Tell the story of the naming of Boston’s leading busi¬ 
ness street. 

4. Why is Boston’s chief park called the Common? 

5. Compare the North End during Revolutionary times with 
the same district to-day. 

6. What is there of interest in Back Bay? in Copley 
Square ? 

7. Describe some of the busy scenes which may be ob¬ 
served along the wharves of the city. 

8. Tell something about the street railways and other 
means of transportation. 

9. Give a brief description of the Boston Public Library. 



186 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


10. Tell what you know of Harvard University. What 
other noted schools are in or near Boston ? 

11. Name some of the advantages which Boston enjoys on 
account of her splendid harbor. 

12. Give some facts about the commercial importance of 
Boston. 

13. In the manufacture of what three products does Boston, 
with her neighboring cities, rank high ? 

14. Why is a codfish suspended in the hall of the House 
of Representatives in the State House ? 



CLEVELAND 

In the days that followed the Revolution, Connecti¬ 
cut claimed certain lands south of Lake Erie. A large 

o 

part of these she sold to the Connecticut Land Company, 
who wanted to colonize the country and establish New 
Connecticut. 

It was in 1796 that the Connecticut Land Company 
sent General Moses Cleaveland west, to survey the land 
and choose a site for a settlement. After surveying about 
sixty miles, Cleaveland fixed on a plateau just south of 
Lake Erie, where the Cuyahoga River runs into the lake. 
Soon the settlement was laid out with a square and two 
main streets and was very properly called Cleaveland. 
The name was spelled with an a , just as Moses Cleave¬ 
land spelled his name. There is no a in the city’s name 
to-day, the story being that the extra letter was dropped, 
and the new spelling adopted, in 1831, through a news¬ 
paper’s claiming that the a would not fit conveniently 
into its headline. 

At first the new settlement did not prosper. The soil 
was poor, and commerce along the Ohio River attracted im¬ 
migrants into the interior. Those that stayed in Cleveland 

137 


































138 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


had a hard struggle with fever. The mouth of the Cuya¬ 
hoga River was frequently choked with sand, making the 
water in the river’s bed stagnant and furnishing a breeding 
place for malaria-carrying mosquitoes. During the summer 
and autumn of 1798 affairs were in a desperate condition. 
Every one in the settlement was miserable. There was no 
flour, and for two months Nathaniel Doan’s boy was the 
only person strong enough to go to the house of one James 
Kingsbury, on the highlands back of the town, for corn. 
This he carried to a gristmill at Newburgh, six miles to 
the south, and had it ground into meal for the sick. 

Besides the suffering caused by fever, there was danger 
of Indian attacks and the ever-present dread of the wolves 
and bears which prowled about the settlement, so that no 
one dared go out at night unarmed, and no door was left 
without a loaded musket to guard it. 

But in spite of the dangers of these early years, the 
settlers for the most part led a busy, happy life. The 
women especially had their hands full — keeping their 
houses clean and neat; doing the cooking and baking; 
spinning, weaving, cutting out, and sewing the clothes 
for their families (usually large) and knitting their stock¬ 
ings. Then there were the sick to be visited and nursed, 
and the neighbors to be helped with their quilting. 

When a new settler arrived, all the men would pitch 
in and help in the "cabin raising,” finishing the work in 
short order. They often ended up with a jolly dance, 
though the music was sometimes nothing more than the 
whistling of the dancers. 

For the first ten years Cleveland was only a hamlet 
of a few dozen people. Still it continued to exist, and 


CLEVELAND 


139 


in 1815 was incorporated as a village. Another year saw 
the first bank started, and before long its first newspaper 
was printed. This paper was supposed to be a weekly, 
but often appeared only every ten, twelve, or fifteen days, 
at the convenience of the editor. 

Already, in supplying her own needs, Cleveland was 
laying the foundation for some of her future industries. 
In fact, soon after the settlement was founded, Nathaniel 
Doan built a blacksmith shop on what is now Superior 
Avenue. Though the shop was only a rude affair built 
of logs, it deserves the name of Cleveland’s first manu¬ 
facturing plant. Here Nathaniel Doan not only shod the 
few horses which needed his services but made tools as 
well. A gristmill and sawmill came next, and then began 
the building of small schooners. 

In the early years of the nineteenth century there was 
practically no way of communicating with the settlements 
on the Ohio River. And except for an occasional party 
of French and Indians, there was no means of hearing 
from Detroit. In 1818, however, regular stage routes 
began to be opened. One line went to Columbus, one to 
Norwalk, and one to Painesville. This last route advertised 
that its stage would leave Cleveland at two on Friday 
afternoon and would reach Painesville on Saturday morn¬ 
ing at eight — a journey which to-day can easily be made 
by automobile in a little more than an hour. Turnpikes 
soon displaced these rough stage routes, and over them 
great six-horse wagons drew freight into Cleveland. 

Though all these things helped Cleveland, it was still 
nothing more than a village — and so primitive a village 
that when two hundred dollars was voted for improvements, 


140 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


one of the old citizens asked, "What on earth can the trustees 
find in this village to spend two hundred dollars on ? ” 
Finally, came two events which were the making of 
Cleveland. In 1827 the Ohio Canal was opened from 



Cleveland to Akron and later to the mouth of the Scioto 
River, which flows into the Ohio at Portsmouth; and in 
1828 a channel was cut through the bar at the mouth 
of the Cuyahoga River. Consider what this meant to 
Cleveland. The Ohio Canal connected the village with 











CLEVELAND 


141 


the Ohio River, thus putting Cleveland in touch with the 
rich coal, iron, oil, and coke lands of western Pennsyl¬ 
vania. Travelers, too, found the canal boats much better 
to journey on than the old stagecoaches. 

The deepening of the mouth of the Cuyahoga River 
gave Cleveland a harbor and a place to build the enormous 



A RIVER SCENE 


docks which to-day line the river’s shore for the last few 
miles of its length. A few years earlier an effort to pro¬ 
tect lake vessels had been made by building a pier out 
into the lake near the sand bar. The lake soon tore the 
pier to pieces, however, and the vessels still had to be 
hauled over the bar to safety. But with the sand bar cut, 
boats could sail in and out of the river at their pleasure. 





142 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 

Splendid results followed. The population increased, 
frame houses gradually came to take the place of log 
cabins, business greatly improved, and hi 1836 Cleveland 
became a city. 

The year 1851 saw a great celebration in Cleveland over 
the opening of the first railroad. This brought added 



AN ORE STEAMER ENTERING CLEVELAND’S HARBOR 


prosperity to the city. Then, too, iron ore began to arrive 
by water from the Lake Superior mines. At the same time 
more and more coal was being received. The manufac¬ 
turers commenced to appreciate the tremendous advantages 
of living at a natural meeting place of these two great 
necessities. Cleveland awoke to a new business activity. 

Then came the Civil War, and the manufacturing of 
iron products for the government crowded Cleveland’s 















CLEVELAND 


143 



factories. During the years of the war the refining of 
coal oil developed into one of the city’s leading indus¬ 
tries. It was then that the great Standard Oil Com¬ 
pany was organized. Many came to the city, attracted by 
these growing industries, so that what proved a disastrous 


COAL DOCKS 

period in many sections of our country was really a 
time of growth for Cleveland. 

Soon after the war East Cleveland was annexed to the 
city, and in 1873 Newburgh too became a part of Cleve¬ 
land. Then, in 1893, West Cleveland and Brooklyn were 
taken in, and when Cleveland celebrated the anniversary 
of its founding in 1896, it had become a city of great 
importance in the country. 





SCALE OF MILES 


# 




144 


» 


THE CITY OF CLEVELAND 

















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































CLEVELAND 


145 


At present 
Cleveland ex¬ 
tends for over 
14 miles along 
Lake Erie and 
covers more than 
50 square miles. 
The larger part 
of the city lies 
to the east of 
the Cuyahoga 
River. The val¬ 
ley of this river 
is filled with car 
tracks, lumber 
yards, car shops, 
coal sheds, ore 
docks, and ship¬ 
yards. Being in 
the valley, these 
are partially hid¬ 
den from the 
city. Huge via¬ 
ducts span the 
valley and unite 
the east and 
west sides of 
Cleveland. 

The heart of 
the business 
quarter and the 



HUGE VIADUCTS SPAN THE VALLEY 











146 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



center of tlie street railway lines is Monumental Square, 
which lies about a mile from the lake shore. From this 
square radiate the streets in a fan shape, at every angle 
from northeast to west. Euclid Avenue is Cleveland’s most 
famous street, having for years enjoyed the reputation of 


THE HEART OF THE BUSINESS QUARTER 

being one of the country’s finest avenues. The lower end 
is taken up with business, but farther out are many splen¬ 
did residences surrounded by extensive and beautifully 
kept lawns. Cleveland is called the Forest City, and it is 
to the old trees which grace its parks and line both sides 
of Euclid Avenue that it owes its name. Another im¬ 
portant business street is Superior Avenue, which runs 
through the main business portion of the city. 








147 


MONUMENTAL SQUARE 


















148 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 

Though Cleveland is a beautiful city, its importance 
really lies in the fact of its occupying just the position 
that it does. Being on Lake Erie puts it hi touch with 
the copper fields of Michigan, the iron mines of Minne¬ 
sota and Michigan, and the huge forests along the Great 
Lakes. Through railroad connections it is also in touch 

with the coal, oil, and 
iron supplies of west¬ 
ern Pennsylvania and 
Ohio. Thus, lying in 
the center of east¬ 
ern and western com¬ 
merce, Cleveland has 
become a great manu¬ 
facturing center, and 
the Cleveland dis¬ 
trict is the largest 
ore market in the 
world. Lake vessels 
bring the ore to 
Cleveland’s enormous 
docks, where huge ma¬ 
chines quickly trans¬ 
fer it to cars waiting 
to carry it to Pittsburgh and other cities. 

Cleveland, also, has several blast furnaces and immense 
factories of iron and steel supplies. It holds first rank in 
America for the making of wire and nails. More ships 
are built in the Cleveland district than anywhere else 
in the world except in the shipyards on the Clyde River 
in Scotland. Then, too, Cleveland makes steel bridges 






ORE DUCKS 




WHEELING & LAKE ERIE BRIDGE 
149 


















150 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


and buildings, automobiles, and gas ranges. Quantities 
of women’s clothing are made in Cleveland. Slaughter¬ 
ing and the wholesale meat-packing business are other 
important industries. 

It is a simple matter to ship Cleveland’s manufactures 
in every direction. The main lines of the New York Cen¬ 
tral and the Nickel Plate pass through Cleveland, and 



THE UNIVERSITY CIRCLE 


it is a terminal city of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, 
& St. Louis Railroad, — commonly known as the Big 
Four, — the Pennsylvania, the Erie, the Baltimore & Ohio, 
and the Wheeling & Lake Erie railroads. More than this, 
Cleveland is the center of a vast network of interurban 
electric railways that carry both passengers and freight 
and keep the city in hourly communication with the many 
smaller cities of northern Ohio. 





CLEVELAND 


151 


Cleveland gets its water supply from Lake Erie 
through tunnels built out under the lake, which connect 
with two intake cribs, one of which is five miles from 
the shore. Natural gas, pumped through large mains 
from the gas fields of West Virginia, more than 200 miles 
away, is sold to the people of Cleveland at 30 cents a 



A DRIVE IN GORDEN PARK 


thousand. The street railway service is among the best 
in the country, and the fare is lower than in any other 
large American city. 

Cleveland has excellent educational advantages. West¬ 
ern Reserve University, founded in 1826, is especially 
noted for its law and medical schools. In Cleveland, also, 
are the Case School of Applied Science, the Cleveland 
School of Art, St. Ignatius College, the Homeopathic 




152 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



THE CITY HALL 



THE NEW COURTHOUSE 


Medical College, and the University School. The public 
schools of the city are among the best. 

Cleveland has a beautiful park system. The different 
parks are connected by boulevards, which form a great 


















CLEVELAND 


153 


semicircle through the residence districts. There are also 
numerous small parks and playgrounds in the more con¬ 
gested districts. A plan for grouping the city’s public 
buildings about a broad parkway is being carried out. 
Several of the buildings are already completed. When 
finished, this will be one of the most beautiful and most 
imposing spectacles hi America. 

All of these things, added to the great possibilities for 
occupation offered by the city’s many lines of work, have 
given Cleveland a population of over 560,000. To-day 
the little settlement of Cleaveland, made in 1796 at the 
mouth of the Cuyahoga, has become the second of all 
lake ports and the sixth city in size in the United States. 


CLEVELAND 

FACTS TO REMEMBER 

Population (1910), over 500,000 (560,663). 

Sixth city in rank according to population. 

Important manufacturing center. 

Center of the largest ore market in the world. 

Ranks first in America in making wire and nails. 

Great shipbuilding center. 

A center of trade in copper, iron, lumber, coal, and oil. 
Important railroad center. 


QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY 

1. Give the history of the name and the settlement of 
Cleveland. 

2. Tell something of the dangers and difficulties of the 
first settlers of Cleveland. 



154 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


3. What was Cleveland’s first manufacturing plant, and 
what others did it soon have ? 

4. What means of communication with other cities did 
Cleveland have in the early days of its history? 

5. To what two events does Cleveland chiefly owe its 
rapid growth ? Why ? 

6. What two products found a meeting place at Cleveland, 
and with what results ? 

7. How did the Civil War help the growth of the city ? 

8. What benefits does Cleveland derive from its location 
on Lake Erie ? 

9. What are the most important industries of the Cleve¬ 
land district ? 

10. What railroad facilities has Cleveland to-day ? 

11. Mention some of the things that make Cleveland a 
pleasant place in which to live and a good place for business. 



Near the head of Chesapeake Bay stands Baltimore, the 
largest of our Southern cities and the seventh city in size 
in the United States. 

Because of her importance as a Southern railroad cen¬ 
ter and her excellent harbor on the largest bay of the 
Atlantic coast, Baltimore is called " The Gateway to the 
South.” Great ships from all parts of the world unload 
their cargoes at her docks and take in return products 
from nearly every section of the United States. 

The railroads bring to Baltimore vast quantities of iron, 
coal, and grain from the West, and up from the South 
ships and trains come laden with raw sugar, tobacco, 
fruits, and vegetables. Here the oysters, fish, and crabs 
from Chesapeake Bay and the products of the rich farm 
lands of Maryland and Virginia find a ready market. 

Knowing these things, one can surmise what the city’s 
leading industries and exports must be. Baltimore is the 
world’s greatest oyster market, she leads the world in the 
canning of vegetables and fruits, she is one of the country’s 
largest banana markets, and more corn is exported from 
this city than from anywhere else in America. 

155 


























156 GBEAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


Baltimore is a great sugar-refining center, she leads the 
world in the making of straw hats, and among her fore¬ 
most industries are the manufacture of clothing and the 
making of tobacco goods. 

Thanks to the coal and iron she receives, Baltimore 
builds cars, ships, and almost everything made of iron 



AN OYSTER BOAT 


and steel. Then, too, the city has the largest copper¬ 
refining plant in America. 

If this story had been written a few years ago, it 
would tell you that Baltimore’s streets were narrow, that 
miles of them were paved with cobblestones or were not 
paved at all, and that the city generally was develop¬ 
ing very slowly. But to-day we have a quite different 
Baltimore. 





BALTIMORE 


157 



THE BALTIMORE FIRE 

On February 7th and 8th, 1904, a great fire swept the 
business section of the city, destroying $125,000,000 worth 
of property. While the ruins were still smoldering, the 
courageous people, refusing all help from outside, began 
to plan a bigger and better Baltimore. 










158 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


The work began in the burned part of the city. The 
narrow down-town streets were widened and paved, and 
new and better buildings took the place of the burned 
ones. Most of these new buildings are three or four 
stories high, though a few tall ones range from ten to 



THE BURNED PART OF THE CITY 


sixteen stories. Fortunately three of Baltimore’s oldest 
and most imposing buildings escaped the fire — the post 
office, the city hall, and the courthouse. 

Two important streets cross this newly built business 
section — Charles Street, running north and south, and 
Baltimore Street, running east and west. Baltimore Street 
is the chief business thoroughfare, and north and south of 
it are the wholesale, financial, and shipping districts. 










PIER 4 



ONE OF THE NEW WHARVES 


























160 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


The city owned little wharf property of importance 
before 1904, but the fire made it possible to buy all the 
burned district fronting the harbor. This the city pur¬ 
chased and laid out in a wonderful system of public 
wharves and docks open to the commerce of the world. 



THE POST OFFICE 


Pier 4, at the foot of Market Place, has been set aside for 
the use of market boats, and here small craft bring much 
of the fruit, vegetables, fish, crabs, and oysters which 
make the markets of Baltimore among the most attractive 
in the United States. There are eleven of these markets, 
and on market days they are a most interesting sight with 
their busy jostling crowds all eagerly buying or selling. 





BALTIMORE 


161 


But these great improvements in the business center 
and along the water front are only part of the good results 
which have followed the fire. In past years Baltimore 
had many miles of open sewers, an unhealthful arrange¬ 
ment which caused much sickness. The very year after 



the fire, work was begun to do away with this evil, and 
to-day the city has a sanitary, up-to-date sewer system. 

Another important work of the city-betterment plan 
has to do with a stream called Jones Falls, which used to 
flow in an open channel right through the center of the 
city. This stream now flows through great concrete tubes, 
over which is a broad highway running diagonally across 





LEXINGTON MARKET 



FALLS W A Y 

102 




















BALTIMORE 


163 


the city, all the way from the docks to the railroad term¬ 
inal. Then, too, the city has a new water system, great 
enough to supply the entire city with purified water from 
Gunpowder River. And besides all these a great dam, 
the third longest in the world, has been built across the 
Susquehanna River 
at McCall Ferry, 
furnishing electric 
power which lights 
the streets, runs the 
cars, and supplies 
power for many of 
the city’s factories. 

From the harbor 
Baltimore stretches 
away to the north 
and west, covering 
thirty-two square 
miles. Within the 
city are green hills 
and pleasant val¬ 
leys, and a chain of 
beautiful parks with 
many splendid old trees bordering the boulevards which 
connect them.- Two of these parks, Mount Vernon Place 
and Eutaw Place, are near the center of Baltimore. The 
former is cross shaped, and here stands the famous monu¬ 
ment to George Washington, the first statue erected to his 
memory in this country. Eutaw Place is a long parkway 
made beautiful with statuary, flowers, fountains, and wind¬ 
ing walks, and on either side stand handsome residences. 



MCCALL FERRY DAM 




164 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


Covering seven hundred acres of picturesque rolling 
land is Druid Hill Park, with its miles of driveways, its 
ancient oak trees, its athletic grounds, tennis courts, botan¬ 
ical palace, zoo, and a large reservoir lake. The rugged 



THE CITY OF BALTIMORE 


scenery of Gwynn’s Falls Park challenges Druid Hill’s 
claim to unequaled beauty. In Patterson Park there is 
the largest artificial swimming pool in the United States. 

Besides its many swimming pools and indoor baths, the 
city has organized a system of portable baths — small 































































































































































































BALTIMORE 


165 



THE FIRST WASHINGTON MONUMENT 

houses which are moved from corner to corner in the 
crowded sections, supplying hot- and cold-water shower 
baths to many thousands each year. 

Baltimore has won a reputation as an educational center 










PATTERSON PARK SWIMMING POOL 




















































BALTIMORE 


167 


through the splendid equipment and wonderful accom¬ 
plishments of Johns Hopkins University, which is noted 
throughout the world, especially for its work along 
medical lines. 

Goucher College, for women, ranks with the best 
women’s colleges in the South. The Baltimore College 



A JOHNS HOPKINS BUILDING 


of Dental Surgery is the oldest college of its kind in 
the world. The Walters Art Gallery, and the Peabody 
Institute with its art gallery, conservatory of music, 
and library, afford opportunities for the study of art, 
music, and literature. 

With its more than 550,000 inhabitants, Baltimore, like 
Philadelphia, is a city of homes and is renowned for its 
good old Southern hospitality. 

Way back in 1634, a company of Catholic pilgrims 













168 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


came to America to found a colony where their religion 
would not be interfered with. King Charles. I of England 
granted to these people a certain territory north of the 
Potomac River, which he named Maryland in honor of 
his wife, Mary, who was also a Catholic. The founder 
of the province was Lord Baltimore, and from the very be¬ 
ginning, settlers of all beliefs were made heartily welcome. 

About one hundred years after 
the planting of this Catholic colony, 
sixty acres of land on the north side 
of the Patapsco River was purchased 
and laid out for a city. To honor the 
generous-hearted founder of Alary- 
land, the place was named Baltimore. 

One of the most thrilling events 
in Baltimore’s history led to the writ¬ 
ing of our national song — " The 
Star-Spangled Banner.” 

Francis Scott Key, of Baltimore, was a prisoner on a 
British man-of-war in 1814, when the British attacked 
Fort McHenry. Fort McHenry guarded Baltimore, and if 
the fort fell, the city too must go. All day the English 
ships fired shot and shell at the fort. During all the night 
the attack went on. Anxiously Key watched through the 
darkness. Could the fort hold out against such a terrible 
bombardment? From time to time, by flashes from burst¬ 
ing bombs, he could see the outlines of the fort. Then 
came the dawn. In the early morning light Key saw our 
flag still waving, and in his joy he wrote on the back of 
an old letter the words of the song that has since become 
so famous. 









BALTIMORE 


169 


A wide thoroughfare which follows the curve of the 
water front for several miles is named in honor of Francis 
Scott Key. Key Highway, it is called, and it leads to Fort 
McHenry, which the War Department has lately given 
over to the care of the city of Baltimore. 


BALTIMORE 

FACTS TO REMEMBER 

Population (1910), over 500,000 (558,485). 

Seventh city in rank, according to population, in the 
United States. 

Located near the head of Chesapeake Bay. 

Has a fine harbor and a splendid dock system. 

An important railroad center. 

Has a large and growing foreign commerce. 

An important manufacturing center. 

Ranks first among the cities of the United States as a 
canning and preserving center. 

The world’s chief center for the manufacture of straw 
hats. 

An important center for shipping oysters and crabs. 

Associated with the writing of w The Star-Spangled 
Banner.” 


QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY 

1. What advantages of location does Baltimore possess ? 

2. Why is Baltimore called the gateway to the South ? 

3. What are the leading exports of this city ? 

4. In what industries does Baltimore rank first in the 
United States ? 



170 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


5. What great disaster visited Baltimore in 1904, and how 
did the people of the city make this great trouble result in 
a better city ? 

6. What educational institution has won a splendid repu¬ 
tation for Baltimore ? 

7. Tell something of the settlement of Maryland and the 
city of Baltimore. 

8. Tell the story of the writing of a famous song of which 
Baltimore is justly proud. 

9. Find by inquiry or by consulting time tables the time 
required to reach Baltimore from the following places: 


New York City 
Philadelphia 
Washington, D.C. 
Pittsburgh 


Atlanta 
Norfolk 
Richmond 
New Orleans 



Pittsburgh and New Orleans —both of vast commercial 
importance — are connected by one of the greatest water 
highways in the world. Never were two cities more unlike. 
New Orleans, near the mouth of the Mississippi, with its 
French and its Southern population, might be termed the 
Paris of our country — this gay, fashionable town, with its 
fine opera houses, its noted restaurants, and its brilliant 
Mardi Gras pageants. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, at the 
head of the Ohio River, in the heart of a famous coal-and¬ 
iron region, is well named the " workshop of the world.” 

Many years ago, when the governor of Virginia sent 
George Washington to drive the French from the Ohio 
valley, there stood, where the Allegheny and Monongahela 
rivers unite to form the Ohio River, a small fort which 
the French called Fort Duquesne. This fort was captured 
in 1758 by the British and renamed Fort Pitt, in honor 
of England’s great statesman, William Pitt. To-day the 
place is known as Pittsburgh, and is the center of the 
most extensive iron works in the United States. 

At first the little settlement was important as a break 
in transportation, for here cargoes were changed from the 

171 

























172 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


lighter boats used on the Allegheny and Monongahela 
rivers to the heavier barges on the broad Ohio. Even then 
Pittsburgh was recognized as a gateway of the West. 

Gradually the settlement became a trading center, 
which soon developed into a big, busy, manufacturing 
city. Now Pittsburgh has a population of over half a 
million and is the eighth city in size in the Union. 



FORT DUQUESNE 


In her countless factories, her mammoth steel mills, and 
her huge foundries, she uses the products of the rich sur¬ 
rounding country as well as an enormous amount of iron 
ore from the Lake Superior mines. 

Although western Pennsylvania too furnishes iron ore, 
its chief contribution to Pittsburgh is a vast amount of 
coal, which the city in turn supplies to the world. 







PITTSBURGH 


173 


Pittsburgh leads the world in the manufacture of steel 
and iron, glassware (including plate and window glass), 

armor plate, steel cars, 
air brakes, iron and steel 
pipe, tin plate, fire brick, 
coke, sheet steel, white 
lead, cork wares, elec¬ 
trical machinery, and 
pickles. 

To carry on these 
important industries, 
Pittsburgh, the city of 
McKeesport, the bor¬ 
oughs of Homestead and 
Braddock, and many 
other places,— all together known as the Pittsburgh dis¬ 
trict,— have more than 5000 manufacturing plants and 
employ over 350,000 
people. The amount 
paid the laborers in 
these factories in 
prosperous times is 
over $1,000,000 a 
day. 

The famous Home¬ 
stead mills make 
armor plate for bat¬ 
tleships. At Brad- 
dock are steel works, 
where ^reat furnaces 

O 

turn out enough rails the Pittsburgh district 




BLOCKHOUSE IN FORT DUQUESNE 



















FILLING MOLDS WITH MOLTEN METAL 



BLAST FUKNACES OF THE CARNEGIE STEEL 


COMPANY 


174 












PITTSBURGH 


175 


in a year to span the United States from the Atlantic to 
the Pacific. The great Carnegie Steel Company has its head¬ 
quarters in the city of Pittsburgh and leads the world in the 
production of structural steel, steel rails, and armor plate. 

Perhaps your knife blade is made of steel manufac¬ 
tured in one of the huge factories in this busy district. 



MINERS AT WORK 


The car tracks of your town, the street-car wheels, and 
the great locomotives, to say nothing of the heavy steel 
beams and girders of your fireproof buildings, may all 
be products of this mighty workshop. 

Pittsburgh coal is used all over the country. The near-by 
mines form a great underground city, whose dark passage¬ 
ways, far below the surface of the earth, are lighted by 








176 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 

tiny electric lights. More than fifteen thousand men find 
employment in this weird city. Day after day the brave 
miners go down into the mines, never sure that they will 
see the sunlight again, for many are the perils of min¬ 
ing. Who has not read of the terrible disasters caused by 



IN A MODERN COAL MINE 


suffocation from fire damp, by flood, the falling of walls, 
or the explosion of coal dust ? Small particles of coal dust 
are constantly floating in the mines, and much is stirred 
up by the cars used to carry the coal to the outside world. 
A tiny spark may ignite this dust and cause it to explode 
with terrific force. Sometimes even the presence of much 
oxygen in the air will make the dust explode, tearing down 








THE ENTRANCE TO A COAL MINE 



SCENE IN A COAL 


MINE 











178 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


great blocks of coal which bury the poor miners or stop 
up the passageways so that there is no escape unless the 
victims are dug out before they die. 

But the world must have coal, for, used for our great 
boilers, it drives our powerful locomotives, sends mighty 
vessels plowing across the ocean, and supplies the power 
which turns the wheels of industry, both great and small. 



PITTSBURGH COAL IS SENT ALL OVER THE WORLD 


Yes, the world must have coal. So Uncle Sam, in pity for 
the miners who brave these awful dangers, has bought a 
mine at Bruceton, a short distance from Pittsburgh. There 
the government is making experiments to find out the 
causes of explosion, aiming in this way to protect the 
miners by lessening their dangers. 

Much of the coal is made into coke by burning out 
certain gases in open-air ovens. Thousands of these 








170 


THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH 




























































































180 GREAT CITIES OF 


THE UNITED STATES 


ovens are located in the 
Pittsburgh district, and 
their fires at night illu¬ 
minate the country for 
miles. The coke is used 
as fuel in the steel fur¬ 
naces of Pittsburgh, Cleve¬ 
land, Chicago, and other 
cities. 

A little more than fifty 
years ago petroleum, or 
rock oil, was discovered 
S near Pittsburgh, and al- 
55 though oil has since been 
® found in many other 
w places, Pittsburgh is still 
55 one of the great centers 
33 for this product. Crude 
g petroleum as it comes 
from the earth is a liquid, 
formed from the decay of 
plants and animals long 
ago buried underground. 
It is obtained by sinking 
wells, or pipes, into oil¬ 
bearing rock, which is 
very porous. Sometimes 
the pipes are sunk a quar¬ 
ter of a mile deep. The 
average yield is from 50 
to 75 barrels a day, and 

















PITTSBURGH 


181 


occasionally a pipe well is found which yields as high 
as 1000 barrels. 

Sometimes a well stops flowing. Then the oil must be 
pumped from the earth or else forced out by the explosion 
of dynamite. Such a well is spoken of as a " shot well.” 
W hen a well is shot, a vast column of oil is thrown into 
the air, just as water is thrown up in a geyser or hot 
spring, by the action of gases under ground. 

Pittsburgh makes great storage tanks for the oil, as 
well as apparatus for drilling wells, and supplies these 
not only to our own country but to every foreign land 
in which oil is found. 

When petroleum is heated it gives off vapors, varying 
according to the heat. These vapors are then condensed and 
form many products which are now in every-day use, such 
as kerosene, gasoline, naphtha, and benzine. Vaseline is 
what remains in the vats after heating the petroleum. 
Paraffin is another product. Pittsburgh manufactures all 
these and supplies them to the world. 

The discovery of natural gas about twenty-five years 
ago, and its use as a fuel, attracted the attention of the 
world to Pittsburgh as a center of cheap fuel. Natural 
gas is found in and around oil fields, so it is supposed 
that the gas and the oil have the same origin. The porous 
rock in which the gas is found is usually covered with 
clay rock, or shale, which prevents the gas from escaping. 
Natural gas, like petroleum, is obtained by sinking pipes. 
When the gas is reached, it rushes out with great force. 
Large quantities of it were formerly used in Pittsburgh’s 
glass factories and iron works, but its greatest use to-day 
is for lighting and heating. 


182 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


The city of Pittsburgh stretches for 7 miles along 
the Allegheny, about the same distance on the Mononga- 
liela, and entirely covers the space between. The city of 
Allegheny, across the Allegheny River, has recently been 
annexed, thus giving Pittsburgh an area of 88 square miles. 

The two cities, with 
the river between, 
remind us of Brook¬ 
lyn and Manhattan. 

The city’s water 
supply is taken 
from the Allegheny 
River and is purified 
in the largest single 
filtration plant in 
the world. 

The main busi¬ 
ness section covers 
the V-shaped space 
between the two 
rivers — known as 
the Point—and ex¬ 
tends into the streets 
further back. Still 
beyond are heights upon which are many beautiful parks, 
fine residences, and splendid public buildings, including 
the Carnegie Museum, Library, and Technical Schools, 
and the buildings of Pittsburgh University. 

Though the population of the " Steel City ” was at first 
mainly Scotcli-Irish, it now includes citizens from almost 
every nation in Europe. The workmen in its factories are 



WOOD STREET AT SIXTH AVENUE IN 1902 




PITTSBURGH 


183 



of at least thirty nationalities. Side by side stand English, 
Germans, Welsh, Irish, Scotch, Negroes, Jews, Italians, 
Syrians, Swedes, Greeks, Slavs, Poles, and Hungarians. 

In one section of the city there is a distinct German 
center, whose inhabitants speak German and have German 
newspapers. Another 
section has received 
the name of Little 
Italy because of the 
number of Italians 
who have come 
there to live. Six 
papers are published 
for these people in 
their own tongue. 

In Little Italy are 
many of the fruit 
stands and market 
places which in this 
country seem to 
furnish a favorite 
employment for the 
sons of Italy. 

In still another 

section, which is called the Ghetto, live the Jews, whose 
conversation is largely carried on in Yiddish, and whose 
newspapers are printed in that language. All of these 
foreign-born people have adopted the dress of American 
citizens, and their descendants will soon become Ameri¬ 
canized in manners and language. To-day their foreign 
ways make them the more interesting. 


WOOD STREET AT SIXTH AVENUE IN 1915 








184 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


But the laborers are by no means the only inhabitants 
of Pittsburgh. There are many wealthy residents, whose 
palatial homes, built beyond the reach of the soot and 
smoke, far away from the noises of the great business 
thoroughfares, are in great contrast to the workmen’s 

simple homes near 
the furnaces. 

Pittsburgh can 
boast of many great 
men. It is the home 
of Andrew Carnegie, 
whose reputation for 
wealth and benevo¬ 
lence is world wide. 
He it was who con¬ 
ceived the idea of 
founding free libra¬ 
ries in different 
cities, they in turn 
to support these 
libraries by giving 
an annual sum for 
that purpose. His 
first offer was to 
his own city. In 1881 he proposed to give Pittsburgh 
$250,000 for a free public library if the city would set 
apart $15,000 each year for .its care. The offer was re¬ 
fused, and the library was given to Allegheny instead. 
Later Mr. Carnegie gave Pittsburgh an Institute and 
Library combined, for the support of which the city gives 
$200,000 each year. The Carnegie Institute is a massive 











PITTSBURGH 


185 


and beautiful building in Schenley Park. It covers 5 acres 
of land and is filled with treasures of art and literature. 
Tonlay there are nine Carnegie libraries in Pittsburgh, 
containing over 860,000 volumes. 

George Westinghouse was another Pittsburgh capitalist. 
His early days were spent in making agricultural imple¬ 
ments in Schenec¬ 
tady. He was called 
Lazy George be¬ 
cause he was always 
making pieces of 
machinery to save 
doing work with his 
hands. Later, by 
his invention of air 
brakes for trains, he 
became rich. Choos¬ 
ing Pittsburgh as 
his home, he estab¬ 
lished in and near 
the city the great 
W estinghouse Elec¬ 
tric Company. It 
was Mr. Westing- 
house who gave to 
Pittsburgh natural gas, conveying it through forty miles 
of pipe from Murrysville. 

Towering above Pittsburgh are high hills, which are 
reached from the business districts by inclined planes. 
Passengers and freight are carried up the inclines in cable 
cars. Up the steepest of these planes, the Monongahela, 



AN INCLINED PLANE 




186 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


whose summit is four hundred feet above the river, the 
railroad runs through a tunnel and brings the passengers 
out upon a high bluff. 

From the heights above the city one views the sur¬ 
rounding country — a wonderful panorama of hills and 
valleys, with the three great rivers, spanned by seventeen 



FROM THE HEIGHTS ABOVE THE CITY 


splendid bridges, stretching away in the distance. In 
every direction are towns called "little Pittsburghs,” 
where live the workers engaged in the gigantic industries 
of the Pittsburgh district. And looking down, one sees 
the Point — the center of this great city, the heart 
of the " workshop of the world.” 






PITTSBURGH 


.187 


PITTSBURGH 

FACTS TO REMEMBER 

Population (1910), over half a million (533,905). 

Eighth city in rank, according to population. 

Has the largest structural-steel plant in the world. 

Has the largest glass-manufacturing plant in the 
United States. 

Has the largest commercial coal plant in the United 
States. 

Has the largest pickling plant in the world. 

Has the largest electrical manufacturing plant in the 
world. 

Leads the world in the manufacture of iron, steel, glass, 
electrical machinery, steel cars, tin plate, air brakes, 
lire brick, white lead, pickles, and cork wares. 

Place of great historical interest in connection with the 
development of the West. 

One of the foremost commercial distributing centers. 


QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY 

1. Compare Pittsburgh with New Orleans in location and 
in interests. 

2. Tell how Fort Pitt grew into the great city of Pitts¬ 
burgh and give two causes for its growth. 

3. Where does Pittsburgh get her iron ore, coal, and petro¬ 
leum ? 

4 . In what manufactures does the city lead the world ? 

5. What great advantages does its location on the Ohio 
River give Pittsburgh ? 

6. Where are her great steel works, and what do they 
manufacture ? 



188. GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


7. Describe the mine cities and the miners. Tell of their 
dangers and how these are to be lessened. 

8. How is petroleum obtained ? What products in daily 
use are made from it? 

9. Give some facts about natural gas and its use in 
Pittsburgh. 

10. Why is Pittsburgh called the "workshop of the 
world ” ? 

11. Name two famous men of Pittsburgh and tell what 
they have done for the city and for the world. 

12. Examine a map and find what shipping ports are 
within easy access of Pittsburgh. 

13. Find by what route ore and other material shipped by 
way of the Great Lakes reach Pittsburgh. 



In population, Detroit is the ninth city of the United 
States. 

In the value of its manufactured products, it is fifth. 

In the value of its exports, it is the leading port on 
the Canadian border. 

With these facts in mind it will be interesting to learn 
something of the history of Detroit; something of the 
goods it manufactures and the reasons for its growth and 
prosperity. 

During the years when the French governed Canada, 
manufacturing and agriculture played a very small part 
in their affairs. Their business men were chiefly inter¬ 
ested in the fur trade; their governors were interested 
mainly in extending the territory over which floated the 
banner of their king; and the teaching of Christianity to 
the hordes of Indians who inhabited the country seemed of 
the greatest importance to their priests and missionaries. 

So, because’ it served the purpose of each, all three 
classes — the fur traders, the crown officers, and the mis¬ 
sionaries—worked hand in hand in exploring and in pen¬ 
etrating the wilderness in every direction. They suffered 

189 
























190 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


every hardship, endured every privation, and very often 
fell victims to the cruelty of the savages. 

In those days of French rule, railroads were unheard 
of, and wagon roads were almost as scarce. Travel was 
sometimes through the woods, along the trails made by 
the Indians; but usually it was by the water courses, 



over which the Indian canoes carried furs to be traded 
for the goods of the French. 

Now if you will look at a map which shows the Cana¬ 
dian border of the United States and follow the course 
of the Great Lakes, yon will see that at four places their 
broad waters narrow into rivers or straits. These places 
are first, the Niagara River; second, where the waters 
of Lake Huron pass into Lake Erie; third, at the Sault 
Ste. Marie; and fourth, at the Straits of Mackinac. 

Between the East and the West, the Great Lakes and 
the St. Lawrence River formed the main artery of travel. 
To control the narrow rivers and straits that connect the 
















DETROIT 


191 


Great Lakes was to control the travel over them, and 
as the French extended their rule from Quebec to the 
West, they fortified these narrow places one by one. 

Fort Niagara was built at the mouth of the Niagara 
River. Then on July 24, 1701, Antoine de la Mothe 
Cadillac landed on the banks of the Detroit River and 
began the work of building a palisade fort, almost where 
the river widens into Lake Saint Clair. 

Cadillac thought that at Fort Detroit he had found one 
of the garden spots of the country. In the pine forests 
of the Michigan peninsula game of every sort abounded, 
and their skins enriched alike the Indians and the French. 
The waters of Lake Saint Clair swarmed with wild fowl. 
In the woods wild grapes grew in profusion, and the rich 
lands bordering both sides of the river assured plentiful 
crops, depending only upon the industry of those who 
tilled the soil. However, in spite of his enthusiasm over 
the beauty of the site, Cadillac proceeded to lay out a 
very ugly little town with rude dwellings huddled along 
narrow muddy streets. 

Such as it was, Detroit remained under French rule 
for fifty-nine years, becoming one of the most prosperous 
of the French outposts. The Indians were, for the most 
part, friendly with the French, and in 1760 the place had 
a population of 2500, which made it of great importance 
in the sparsely settled West. 

Then came the years of the French and Indian wars, 
and finally the French, having lost Quebec, were obliged 
to surrender to the English. So in November, 1760, De¬ 
troit was given up to Major Robert Rogers in command 
of a detachment of British regulars and American militia. 


192 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


The English were not allowed to remain long in undis¬ 
turbed possession of their new outpost. Pontiac, chief of 
the Ottawas and one of the craftiest of all Indian war¬ 
riors, was friendly to the French. In 1763, through his 
immense influence with all the Western tribes, he organized 
a conspiracy to drive the English from the territory which 
they had won with such difficulty. Detroit was one of 
the first places to be attacked. The siege lasted several 
months, but in spite of the cruelty and cunning of the 
attack, the garrison held out until at last relief came. 
Thus by their bravery they did much to prevent the suc¬ 
cess of Pontiac’s Conspiracy, as the uprising is called. 

Then came the Revolution. At its close, the Treaty of 
Paris was signed in 1783. By the terms of this treaty, 
Detroit, together with the other British outposts in the 
West, became the property of the United States. How¬ 
ever, it was not until 1796 that the place was actually 
occupied by American troops. 

Sixteen years later Detroit again passed into the pos¬ 
session of the British. This was during the war of 1812 
and followed the defeat of General William Hull’s ill- 
fated expedition into Canada. Falling back to Detroit, 
Hull was attacked, and surrendered to the British after 
a half-hearted resistance. 

A little more than a year later, however, in October, 
1813, Oliver Hazard Perry won the famous battle of 
Lake Erie. This gave the Americans control of the lake, 
and the British soon abandoned Detroit, which has since 
remained in the possession of the United States. 

Detroit had prospered but little since 1760. Its inhabi¬ 
tants were for the most part easy-going Frenchmen. They 


DETROIT 


193 


were not suited to the strenuous work of city building. 
Detroit, instead of growing larger, was becoming smaller; 
and when, in 1820, the United States took a census of the 
place, it had but 1442 inhabitants as against the 2500 
that Major Rogers found in 1760. 

But from 1820 the growth of Detroit has been con¬ 
tinuous. In 1825 the Erie Canal was opened, furnishing 



DETROIT IN 1820, AND STEAMER WALK-IN-THE- WA TER 
(From an old print) 


an easy means of communication from the East to the 
West. Then came a great tide of immigration to all the 
states bordering on the Great Lakes. Michigan was one of 
the first to profit, and Detroit was the gateway to Michigan. 

Most of the pioneers who sought homes in the West 
were farmers. The life of cities and villages offered few 
attractions to them. The number that stayed in Detroit 





194 GEE AT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


was small as compared to the number that passed through 
into the back country to clear the woodlands and take 
up the work of agriculture. 

But as the back country filled up, there came a demand 
for the things in which cities deal, while at the same time 
there came the need of places where the products of the 



A DRY DOCK 


farm could be gathered together ready for transportation 
to the Eastern market. 

In this way Detroit began its great growth. It bought 
the wool and wheat which the Michigan farmers raised, 
and shipped them East. It bought from the East the dry 
goods, hardware, and various other things which the 
Michigan farmers needed, and distributed them. It grew 








DETROIT 


195 


prosperous as the country back of it became more popu¬ 
lated, and as this population became richer and able to 
buy larger amounts and more expensive goods, Detroit 
reaped the advantage. 

Then too the traffic on the lakes became more impor¬ 
tant, requiring larger and better vessels. Detroit has one 



A PASSENGER STEAMER 


of the best harbors on all the Great Lakes, making it 
splendidly suited for the building and launching of ves¬ 
sels. Always engaged more or less in shipbuilding, Detroit 
improved its shipyards and kept pace with the demand. 
To-day it builds all types of vessels, from magnificent 
passenger steamers to the great steel ore ships which 
carry the iron ore of the Lake Superior districts. 





196 GEEAT CITIES OE THE UNITED STATES 


It was in 1860 that Detroit began to take its place 
among the industrial cities of the country. Now it is 
fifth among the cities of the United States in the value 
of its manufactured products. Let us see what its chief 
industries are. 

First of all comes the manufacture of automobiles and 
the parts of which they are made. It is estimated that 
more than half of all the automobiles made in the United 



A LAKE VESSEL BUILT IN DETROIT 


States are built in Detroit factories. Until 1899 there 
was not a single automobile factory in the city. To-day 
there are over thirty, many of them covering acres of 
ground. 

As few of the automobile factories make all the parts 
of their machines, there are in Detroit many shops for 
the manufacture of steel, aluminium, and brass castings, 
and of gears, wheels, and various other automobile parts. 





DETROIT 


197 


Another of Detroit’s important industries is the manu¬ 
facture and repair of steam- and electric-railroad cars. 
These are largely freight cars, although many passenger 
cars are also made. 

Other lines of business include foundry and machine- 
shop products, the making of druggists’ preparations, the 
manufacture of flour, the packing of beef and pork, and 
the preparation of other food stuffs. 



WHERE AUTOMOBILES ARE MADE 


Then Detroit makes great quantities of soda ash and 
alkalies. This industry Detroit owes to the fact that here 
are found both limestone and salt, which is obtained from 
wells driven along the river bank. Both of these materials 
are required in the manufacture of soda ash. 

The printing-and-publishing business gives employment 
to thousands; so does the manufacture of paints and var¬ 
nishes. In stoves, ranges, and furnaces, Detroit leads 




198 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


every other city in the country. It is interesting to know 
that Detroit makes great numbers of adding machines, 
that it is the largest producer of overalls in the country, 
that it is a center of the brass industry, that it turns out 
more than 800,000,000 cigars each year, and that it is 
one of the largest producers of wrought- and malleable- 
iron castings. 

The entire business of a city is, of course, never wholly 
manufacturing. Part of its business is always the dis¬ 
tribution of things to supply the needs of its inhabitants 
and of the people who live in the surrounding country. 

When these goods are sold in large quantities to mer¬ 
chants who in turn sell them to the person using them, 
the business is known as a wholesale business. When 
they are sold by the merchant directly to the user, he does 
what is called a retail business. 

The wholesale business of Detroit is very large. Its 
merchants do the larger part of the wholesale business 
through the entire state of Michigan and in parts of 
northern Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minne¬ 
sota. They even furnish certain supplies to some parts of 
Canada. Dry goods, drugs, hardware, and groceries are 
the principal things in which Detroit wholesalers deal. 

Detroit has also many large retail stores, which supply 
not only the people who live in the city of Detroit but 
those in the surrounding country as well. Thanks to the 
many suburban electric railroads and the many steam 
roads, the people who live in the smaller places are able 
to come to Detroit to purchase things they want. 

Now let us take our map again and notice the loca¬ 
tion of Detroit in relation to the rest of the country, for 


DETROIT 


199 


location, as you know, has very much to do with the 
growth of cities. 

We find in the first place that it is separated from 
Canada by only the width of a river. So we are not sur¬ 
prised to hear that Detroit is one of the principal points 
for the exchange of goods between the two countries. 



THE DETROIT RIVER TUNNEL 


The two most important Canadian railroads have termi¬ 
nals at Windsor, on the Canadian side of the water, and 
also at Detroit. A very large part of the United States 
finds Detroit the most convenient point from which to 
send its products into Canada, since goods can so easily 
be brought to Detroit by water or rail. 

Statistics issued by the United States government show 
that of the eighteen customhouses on the Canadian border 
the one at Detroit does the largest volume of business. 











200 GREAT CITIES OE THE UNITED STATES 


Then too, by the lakes, Detroit can reach all of the 
American lake ports, and from Buffalo, through the Erie 
Canal, it can even reach New York. 

The many railroads which serve Detroit give it excel¬ 
lent communication with all parts of the United States. 
The Michigan Central Railroad dives under the river, from 
Detroit to Windsor, through one of the most remarkable 
tunnels in the world. For years the cars of the Michigan 
Central Railroad, both passenger and freight, were carried 
across the river on ferryboats. This, of course, was a very 
slow way of crossing, but a bridge was impractical for 
various reasons, so at last it was decided to build 
a tunnel. 

When the engineers studied the river bottom, they 
found that it was covered with mud so deep that it was 
impossible to build a tunnel under it. Instead they built 
the tunnel of steel on the river bank, and when it was 
completed they sank it in sections and then fastened 
it together. 

Two belt-line railroads, extending from the river bank, 
circle through Detroit. One is some two miles from the 
center, the other, six. Along these railroads are many 
factories which have switches directly into their plants. 
This makes shipping a simple matter for the Detroit 
manufacturers. 

Now, having learned something of the history of Detroit, 
something of the manufacturing which it does and the 
commerce it carries on, let us take a look at the city itself. 

The older parts of most great cities are badly laid out. 
In very few cases do men realize that their little settle¬ 
ments are to grow into large cities. And so they pay little 



201 


THE CITY OF DETROIT 































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































202 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


attention to laying out streets, but in building their 
houses follow the farm lanes and often the paths made 
by the cows as they are driven to and from the pastures. 

This is not always the case however. Washington was 
laid out long before it ever became a city, and, in conse¬ 
quence, it has magnificent broad streets and many parks. 



NORTH WOODWARD AVENUE 


Detroit was one of the badly laid-out settlements, but 
in 1805 a fire burned every house in Detroit with one 
exception. Now at that time Judge Augustus B. Wood¬ 
ward was a prominent figure in the city government. 
When the fire wiped out the old town, the judge thought 
that a plan should be made for Detroit just as had been 
done for Washington. His idea was to have a great 
circle, called the Grand Circus, in the center of the 
town. Two streets, 120 feet wide, were to cross this 
circle, dividing it into quarters, and from the circle 



DETROIT 


203 


other broad avenues were to radiate in all directions. 
As the city grew, other circles were to be built with 
streets radiating from them. 

Unfortunately the citizens of Detroit did not have the 
belief in the growth of their city that Judge Woodward 
had, and so his scheme was only carried out in part. That 
part, however, gave to Detroit its Grand Circus, its broad 
avenues, and its down-town parks, and did much to earn 
for it the title of the City Beautiful. 

Detroit to-day has many splendid and costly residences. 
It has also street after street filled with comfortable 
medium-priced houses where the workmen live, and its 
people are fond of boasting that it is a city of homes. 

Woodward Avenue, which is 120 feet wide, is named 
after Judge Woodward. This avenue runs from the river 
bank right through the entire city. At its lower end it is 
the principal retail street of the city, while further out are 
many fine residences. 

As the town grew, a boulevard was built, which, start¬ 
ing at the river, runs completely around the city at a dis¬ 
tance of some two and a half miles from the center. 
This boulevard is known as the Grand Boulevard and is 
more than 12 miles long and from 150 to 200 feet in 
width. In the center is a narrow strip upon which are 
grown flowers, trees, and grass, while upon either side 
run macadam roads. 

The most popular of Detroit’s parks is Belle Isle. This 
is on an island of about 700 acres, directly opposite the 
city. Originally the island was for the most part a swamp 
infested with snakes. In order to get rid of the snakes 
a drove of hogs was turned loose on the island, and for a 


204 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


long time it was known as Hog Island. Then the city 
bought it and turned it into a park. The swamps were 
drained, and lakes and canals were built, which in the 
summer time are covered with canoes and boats. In the 
winter they make excellent places for skating. Play¬ 
grounds, baseball fields, and picnic grounds were laid out 



AT BELLE ISLE 


and a zoo was built, as well as one of the best aquariums 
in the country. And here, too, is a horticultural building, 
where many rare plants and flowers are grown. A large 
part of the island was covered with woods, and this was 
left in its native state, with winding roads built through 
it. The island is connected with the mainland by a 
broad bridge. 




DETROIT 


205 


The health conditions of Detroit. are excellent. Its 
water supply is taken at a depth of 40 feet from the 
Detroit River, just where it leaves Lake Saint Clair. The 
city has an ample sewerage system. It has many fine 
public schools, and here also are the University of Detroit 
and the Detroit colleges of law and medicine. In short, 
from every point of view Detroit is a good place in which 
to live. 

A short time ago prizes were offered to the public-school 
pupils in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades for 
the five best essays on " Why I am Glad I live in 
Detroit.” Mere is what one sixth-grade boy wrote about 
his home city : 

" What a beautiful city is Detroit,” says the world-wide 
traveler, as he passes along its broad avenues, in the shade of 
its magnificent trees. " Detroit has a fine commercial center,” 
says the enterprising manufacturer as he surveys its busy 
wharves. " What an excellent situation this city has,” says 
the farmer, as he comes trudging to town with his load of 
produce. " In Detroit life is worth living,” says the happy 
pleasure seeker, as he whiles away his time, either on the lake 
or in its many parks and boulevards. " You can have loads of 
fun at Belle Isle,” whispers the small boy, as he thinks of the 
many pastimes which so appeal to every child. " What an in¬ 
teresting history has Detroit,” says the historian, as he recalls 
its many struggles, first with the Indians, then with the 
French, and last of all the English. 

Many strangers will come to our city during the next 
few months, and I know that after they have seen it and 
go to their homes again, they will tell their neighbors and 
friends of our beautiful city, and I, who live here, will be 
very proud of it. 


206 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


DETROIT 

FACTS TO REMEMBER 

Population (1910), more than 450,000 (465,766). 

Ninth city in rank, according to population. 

Important shipping and manufacturing center. 

Important center for trade with Canada. 

Most important center in United States for the auto¬ 
mobile industry. 

Place of great historical interest. 


QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY 

1. How does Detroit rank among our great cities in popu¬ 
lation, manufactured products, and exports ? 

2. What were the ambitions of the French governors, 
traders, and missionaries of Canada in the early days ? 

3. Why did the French build forts on the narrow rivers 
and straits that connect the Great Lakes ? 

4. Describe Detroit and its surroundings in 1701. 

5. How and when did the English first acquire Detroit ? 

6. How did the development of the farm lands about the 
city help the growth of Detroit ? 

7. Tell about its growth since 1760, and give three causes. 

8. Name and describe some of the industries of the city. 

9. Tell something of its vast wholesale and retail trade. 

10. Show how the location of Detroit influences its com¬ 
merce and contributes to its growth. 

11. Name three products in the manufacture of which 
Detroit leads all other cities in the country. 

12. What conditions have made Detroit a great center for 
commercial relations with Canada ? 




BUFFALO 

About 1783 Cornelius Winne, a trader, built a little 
log store at the mouth of Buffalo River, which empties 
into Lake Erie. That was the beginning of Buffalo, the 
queen city of the lakes, the home to-day of more than 
four hundred thousand people. 

To understand the wonderful growth of this city we 
must go back to the days of the Revolution and see New 
York in those early times. Almost all the people of the 
United States then lived on the narrow strip of land 
lying between the Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian 
Highlands. The high forest-covered mountains made a 
barrier that kept the colonial settlers from attempting to 
push out toward the west. 

But in New York State nature had left an opening 
between the mountain ranges, along the courses of the 
Hudson and the Mohawk rivers. Settlers had early 
followed these streams and built homes in their valleys. 
Beyond lay the trackless hunting grounds of the Indians 
— the great West. 

With the close of the Revolution things began to 
change. New York made a treaty with the Indians, 

207 
























208 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


whereby they agreed to sell large tracts of their lands. 
Pioneers pushed their way into the unknown wilderness 
of the western part of the state and found a beautiful 
fertile country. Their reports led hundreds to follow 
them. Soon central and northern New York were dotted 
with settlements. More and more immigrants kept coming, 



A LOCK PORT LOCK 


all seeking the land beyond the Appalachian Mountains. 
The great western movement of the nineteenth century 
had begun. 

Winne had built his trading post before this westward 
movement reached Lake Erie. For some time he lived in 
his log cabin in the midst of the forest, with no neighbors 
except the Indians with whom he traded. But gradually 






BUFFALO 


209 


other settlers came and built homes near him. By 1804 
there were about twenty houses in the little settlement, 
which, for a short time, was called New Amsterdam. 

By 1812 the name had been changed to Buffalo, and 
the town had a population of 1500. That year war with 
England broke out, and in 1813 a body of British soldiers 
with their Indian allies crossed the Niagara River during 
the night, took the Americans by surprise, and burned 
Buffalo. Of its three hundred houses, just one escaped the 



NEW YORK’S CANALS 

flames. But nothing daunted, the men began to rebuild 
their homes, and in a few years no traces of the fire 
were to be seen. 

In early times the Indians going from the seacoast to 
the Great Lakes had followed the Hudson and Mohawk 
rivers and then gone on directly west to Lake Erie. 
With the coming of the white man the Indian pathway 
grew into a road, and in 1811 stagecoaches began to 
run over this road between Buffalo and Albany. 

But carrying passengers and freight by stagecoach 
was very expensive, and a few men, headed by Governor 
De Witt Clinton, began to say that the state ought to 









210 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


build a canal connecting Lake Erie with the Hudson 
River. Many laughed at this idea. They knew very little 
about canals and thought it foolish to waste millions of 
dollars on a useless " big ditch,” as they called it. 

However, those in favor of the scheme finally won, and 
the work of building the Erie Canal was begun in 1817. 
It very nearly followed the old trail between Albany and 

Buffalo and was 868 
miles long. Eighty- 
three locks raised and 
lowered the boats 
where there was a 
difference of level 
in the canal. Lock- 
port, a city 25 miles 
northeast of Buffalo, 
was named after 
these locks, there be¬ 
ing 10 of them there. 

In 1825 the work 
was completed; the 
Erie Canal was opened, and at last there was a water¬ 
way between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic. All the 
towns along the canal held a great celebration. None had 
better reason for rejoicing than Buffalo. In 1825 Buffalo 
was a little hamlet on the frontier. Thanks to the Erie 
Canal, it was soon to become one of the leading cities of 
the country. 

It was not long before the " big ditch ” was known as 
the "path to the great West.” A rush of emigration 
further west followed, and all these travelers stopped at 



TRAVELING BY CANAL 





BUFFALO 


211 


Buffalo, for here they had to change from the flat-bottomed 
canal boats to the lake vessels. Hotels were crowded, 
business flourished, and Buffalo became " a great doorway 
of the inland sea.” 

During the first years after its completion little freight 
was carried over the Erie Canal, but settlers kept flock¬ 
ing into the West, and before many years these Western 



THE BARGE CANAL NEAR BUFFALO 


pioneers were raising far more grain than they could use. 
Lake commerce began. Hundreds of ships brought wheat, 
lumber, and furs to Buffalo from the West and returned 
laden with manufactured goods. Buffalo was the chief 
lake port, and for many years shipping was its leading 
industry. 

Then came the railroads. The first railroad to Buffalo 
was completed in 1836. A few years later, trains ran 










212 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


between Albany and Buffalo, and in time carloads of 
grain were shipped by rail. Though shipments by canal 
continued and even increased for a time, the railroads 
gradually did more and more of the carrying, and finally 
robbed the canal of much of its former importance. 

Still, shipping by 
canal was cheaper. 
Improvements have 
been made in the 
Erie Canal from 
time to time, and 
in 1903 the state 
voted *101,000,000 
for the enlarge¬ 
ment of the Erie, 
Oswego, and Cham¬ 
plain canals into 
the 1000-ton-barge 
canal. When this 
is completed it will 
be 12 feet deep and 
will float much 
larger barges than 
did the Erie Canal. 
But to return to 
Buffalo. The city’s location naturally made it one of the 
great centers of the country. Only the Niagara River 
separates the city from the most thickly settled part of 
Canada, and it is therefore a most convenient meeting 
place of the two countries. Already Buffalo’s trade with 
Canada amounts to over *50,000,000 a year. 







BUFFALO 


213 


Besides being one of the chief commercial centers of 
the country, Buffalo is an important manufacturing town. 
Three things are necessary to success in manufacturing — 
raw materials, power, and a market where the finished 
goods can be sold. Buffalo has all of these near at 
hand. The country round about is singularly rich in 
natural resources. Forests, fertile farm lands, and rich 
iron and coal deposits are all within easy reach of the 
city and supply it with raw material at small cost for 
transportation. 

No city in the world has greater advantages than 
Buffalo in the matter of power. The Niagara Falls 
furnish an unlimited supply of electric power, which is 
a substitute for coal and, for many purposes, more con¬ 
venient. Buffalo’s nearness to the coal fields of Pennsyl¬ 
vania makes the cost of both hard and soft coal low. 
Natural gas and oil furnish about one fifth of the power 
now used in the city. Both are found near Buffalo, stored 
in the pores and cavities of rocks. Holes are bored into 
the rocks, and the petroleum or rock oil is pumped into 
huge tanks. The gas is carried by underground pipes 
to the city, where it is used in heating and lighting 
thousands of homes and factories. 

Lastly, Buffalo does not have to ship its products far 
to find a market. Within 450 miles of the city live 
almost 50,000,000 people, and lakes, canals, and railroads 
offer cheap and rapid transportation to all parts of the 
country. Thirteen steamship lines and 18 railroads enter 
the city. There are 2 trunk lines from New England; 
5 from New York; 1 from Philadelphia, Baltimore, and 
Washington; 1 from St. Louis; and 4 from Chicago. 



214 GBEAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES * 


The richest 
iron mines in 
the world are 
located south of 
Lake Superior, 
but there are no 
coal deposits in 
this region, and 
coal is necessary 
* for the manufac- 

A 

£ turing of iron 
o and steel. As it 
g was cheaper to 
h ship the ore to 
q the coal than 
< to carry the coal 
o to the ore, there 
^ were men who, 
§ as early as 1860, 
saw that iron 
g and steel could 
3 be manufactured 
with profit in 
Buffalo. Though 
blast furnaces 
were built from 
time to time, the 
industry did not 
attract great 
attention until 
1899. In that 





BUFFALO 


215 


year the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company, of Scran¬ 
ton, Pennsylvania, moved to Buffalo and built an im¬ 
mense metal-working plant. This plant is south of the 
city and extends several miles along the shore of Lake 
Erie. The company has built a ship canal over half 
a mile long, which the largest lake vessels can enter. 
On one side of this canal are hundreds of coke ovens 
and the storage grounds for coal; on the other side are 
the ore docks, a row of huge blast furnaces, and the 
steel works with their numerous mills, foundries, and 
workshops. 

In the coke ovens millions of tons of soft coal are every 
year turned into coke, which is really coal with certain 
things removed by heating. This coke is used in melting 
the iron in the blast furnaces — so called because during 
the melting strong blasts of air are forced into the fur¬ 
naces. These furnaces are almost a hundred feet high, 
are made of iron, and lined with fire brick. Tons of 
coke, limestone, and iron ore are dropped in from above 
by machinery, and the intense heat of the burning coke 
melts the iron, which sinks to the bottom of the furnace 
while the limestone collects the impurities and forms an 
upper layer. At the bottom of the furnace there are open¬ 
ings where the fiery-hot liquid runs off into molds, or 
forms, in which it cools and hardens. The waste matter, 
called slag, is also drawn off at the bottom. More coke 
and ore are added from above, and the smelting goes on 
night and day without interruption until the furnace 
needs repair. After the iron has been separated from the 
ore, it is taken to the foundries where it is made into 
steel rails and many other kinds of iron and steel goods. 


216 GBEAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


Other iron and steel companies have sprung up in 
Buffalo, and the city and its vicinity is now manufactur¬ 
ing enormous quantities of pig iron, steel rails, engines, 



car wheels, tools, and machinery. 

Back in the first half of the nineteenth century New 

York was the lead¬ 


ing wheat-raising 
and flour-producing 
state. The first flour 
mill in the Buffalo 
district was run by 
water power fur¬ 
nished by the Erie 
Canal. As larger 
mills followed and 
steam took the place 
of water power, 
Buffalo became an 
important flour-mill¬ 
ing center. Later, 
wheat began to be 
raised further west, 
and the Central 
the electric building States soon took the 

lead in wheat grow¬ 
ing and flour milling. But Buffalo had the advantage of 
an early start. Its mills were already built and working. 
Grain from the West kept pouring into the city to be 
stored in its great grain elevators, and the production of 
flour increased. Larger mills were built, some of them mak¬ 
ing use of the Niagara water power. To-day there are more 




BUFFALO 


217 



than a dozen companies in Buffalo operating flour mills 
which turn out over 3,000,000 barrels of flour in a year. 

Buffalo s slaughter-house products for a single year are 
worth millions of dollars. There are two large meat¬ 
packing firms in the city, slaughtering over a million 
cattle and hogs each 
year. They both had 
small beginnings in 
the butcher business 
more than fifty years 
ago. In 1852 the 
first stockyards were 
opened, and the city’s 
live-stock industry 
began. Shipments of 
live stock from the 
grazing states of the 
West increased un¬ 
til the city became 
the second cattle 
market in the world, 

Chicago alone hand¬ 
ling more live stock 
than Buffalo. 

When first settled, the lake region was covered with 
forests, and lumber was one of the first products sent 
eastward by lake steamers. Millions and millions of feet 
of pine were towed down the lakes on barges and trans¬ 
ferred to canal boats at Buffalo, and the city became one 
of the great lumber markets of the country. Although 
shipments from the Northern forests have not been so 


THE BUFFALO HOME OF THE NEW YORK 
TELEPHONE COMPANY 














THE CITY OF BUFFALO 


218 


































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































BUFFALO 


219 


great in the last twenty years, the lumber industry con¬ 
tinues to be of great importance to Buffalo. In addition 
to pine from the lake region, the city receives hard wood 
from the South. You see enormous piles of lumber in the 
yards of the city itself, and Tonawanda, a suburb ten 
miles north of Buffalo, has the largest lumber yards in 
the world. These yards carry on a large wholesale and 
retail trade, and sawmills, planing mills, and many lum¬ 
ber industries have grown up around them. Mill work, 



?vSES - v mm . m 

[1 ft u tc « '|!!fi *-%gLtg!. l y| 

it u ti u 14 




THE ARMORY 


doors, mantels, piano cases, and furniture are some of the 
things made in the Buffalo workshops. 

While commerce and industry were thus developing, 
the city itself was growing in size, population, and beauty. 
It extends about ten miles along the shore of Lake Erie 
and the Niagara River. In the residence section there are 
thousands of beautiful homes, set well back from broad 
streets and surrounded by wide lawns and gardens. 
Delaware Avenue, with its branching boulevards and 
parkways, is the finest of these residence sections. 











WADING POOL IN HUMBOLDT PARK 



^ PUBLIC PLAYGROUND 







BUFFALO 


221 


Several large parks and many smaller squares are scat¬ 
tered throughout the city, while swimming pools, wading 
ponds, and public playgrounds delight the hearts of the 
children. Lake breezes make the city cool in summer, and 
altogether Buffalo is one of the cleanest, most healthful, 
and most beautiful cities of the country. 

Through the southern part of the city flows the sluggish 
and winding Buffalo River. In the early days the mouth 



THE ALBRIGHT ART GALLERY 


of this stream was the only harbor of the port, although 
it was then very shallow. Millions of dollars have been 
spent in deepening and improving this inner harbor, while 
a larger outer harbor has been made by inclosing a part 
of the lake by breakwaters. The harbor of Buffalo is now 
one of the best on the Great Lakes. 

About two miles north of the mouth of Buffalo River 
is The Front, a park overlooking the water and giving 
a beautiful view of Lake Erie, the Niagara River, and 







222 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



the Canadian shore. It is a government reservation, and 
here is Fort Porter. Further north the International 
Railroad Bridge connects Canada with the city of Buffalo. 


THE MCKINLEY MONUMENT 

Delaware Park, in the northern part of the city, is the 
largest and most beautiful of Buffalo’s parks. Near the 
northeastern entrance is the zoological garden, with a seal 
pool, bear pits, and many strange and interesting animals. 
In the western part is the Albright Art Gallery, a beauti¬ 
ful building of white marble. Here, too, is the Buffalo 






NIAGARA FALLS 


223 









224 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


FIistorical-Society Building, which was the New York 
State Building during the Pan-American Exposition 
which was held in Delaware Park and on the adjoining 
land in 1901. 

In the center of Niagara Square stands the McKinley 
Monument, erected by the state of New York in honor of 
President William McKinley, who was shot at the Pan- 
American Exposition in Buffalo, on September 6, 1901. 
It was in this city that President Roosevelt took the oath 
of office after President McKinley’s death. It is also 
worthy of note that Buffalo was the home of two of our 
presidents — Fillmore and Cleveland. 

The business district of Buffalo is only a short distance 
from the harbor. The most important business streets are 
Main Street and Broadway. 

Twenty miles north of Buffalo the Niagara River 
plunges over a precipice more than one hundred and fifty 
feet high, forming the world-famous Niagara Falls. The 
width of the river, the beauty of the mighty waters as 
they rush thundering over the edge of the precipice, the 
foam and spray rising from the foot of the cataract, all 
combine to make Niagara Falls the greatest natural won¬ 
der on the American continent. In the middle of the 
stream lies Goat Island, which divides the Falls into the 
Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side and the American 
Falls on the New York side. 

Hardly less interesting than the Falls are the power 
plants on both sides of the river, which are making the 
force of Niagara do a mighty work. It has been reck¬ 
oned that the volume of water which passes over the Falls 
is two hundred and sixty-five thousand cubic feet each 


BUFFALO 


225 


second. Think of it! This tremendous rush of water, the 
experts tell us, represents five million horse power. To 
make this gigantic power of use to man, canals have been 
built above the Falls to bring water from the river to 
the power houses where its great force turns huge water 
wheels and produces electric power. Cables of copper 
wire raised high in the air carry this power to all the 
surrounding country. It runs many of Buffalo’s factories, 
lights the city streets, and moves its trolley cars as well 
as those in Syracuse, one hundred and fifty miles away. 

Such then, with its wonderful power, its command of 
material, its beautiful and important location, is the 
Buffalo of to-day. The little settlement of one hundred 
years ago has become the tenth city in size in the United 
States. 


BUFFALO 

FACTS TO REMEMBER 

Population (1910), over 400,000 (423,715). 

Tenth city according to population. . 

Important lake port. 

One of the best harbors on the Great Lakes. 

Located at the western end of the Erie Canal. 

Great transfer point between lake boats and canal boats 
and railroads. 

Important railroad center. 

Center for live-stock trade. 

Important center for wheat, lumber, meat packing, and 
the iron and steel industries. 

Electric light and power obtained from Niagara Falls. 



226 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY 

1. How did it happen that the people of New York first 
came to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains, and where 
were these first settlements ? 

2. Tell about the beginning of Buffalo, and give its origi¬ 
nal name. 

3. What was the first route from Albany to Buffalo, and 
why was it used ? How was the -journey made between 1811 
and 1825 ? 

4. Tell the story of the Erie Canal, and give its effect on 
Buffalo and the West. 

5. How did Buffalo’s location make it one of the great 
centers of industry ? 

6. What three things are necessary to success in manu¬ 
facturing ? 

7. How is Buffalo furnished with power for her great 
manufacturing interests ? 

8. Where does Buffalo find a market for her products ? 
How? 

9. What great steel company is located near this city? 
Why? 

10. Describe the wonderful coke ovens and blast furnaces 
near Buffalo. 

11. Give some idea of Buffalo’s flour mills, slaughter 
houses, and lumber yards, and of her importance in these 
industries. 

12. What do you know of Niagara Falls and the power 
plants on both sides of the Niagara River ? 



The United States extends from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific, and just as New York is our leading seaport on 
the Atlantic, so San Francisco is the leading seaport 
on the Pacific. 

San Francisco’s history is inseparably connected with 
the development of the resources of California. In 1769 
Spain sent an expedition overland from Mexico to colo¬ 
nize the Pacific coast, and Don Gasper de Portola, at the 
head of these colonists, was the first white man known 
to have looked upon San Francisco Bay. 

Seven years later, in 1776, the Franciscan friars built 
a fortified settlement on the present site of San Fran¬ 
cisco. The Mission Dolores, which is still standing, was 
begun the same year, and a little village slowly grew 
up around it. 

At the close of the Mexican War, in 1848, California 
was ceded to the United States, and the Stars and Stripes 
were raised over the little settlement, whose name was 
soon changed from Yerba Buena to San Francisco. 

In 1848, too, came the discovery of gold in California, 
and San Francisco suddenly grew from a Spanish village 

227 






















228 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


to a busy American town. The population jumped from 
800 to 10,000 in a single year. A city of tents and 
shanties quickly arose on the sand dunes. Thousands of 
people were leaving their homes in the East to seek a 
fortune in the gold fields. Many came by water, either 
rounding Cape Horn or else traveling by boat to the 
Isthmus of Panama, crossing on foot, and reembarking 
on the Pacific coast. Others came overland in large 
canvas-covered wagons called prairie schooners. 

These newcomers were men of all classes — ministers, 
lawyers, farmers, laborers. Some were educated, others 
were ignorant. While most of them were industrious and 
law-abiding, a considerable number were desperate and 
lawless men. These last caused much trouble. Gambling, 
murders, and crimes of all kinds were alarmingly common, 
and the city government was powerless to punish the 
lawbreakers. Finally, the better class of citizens formed 
a vigilance committee, which hung four criminals and 
punished many in other ways until law and order were 
established. 

San Francisco has been called the " child of the mines.” 
It was the discovery of gold that first made it the leading 
city of the Pacific coast. From that day the production of 
gold has been steadily maintained. Nearly $20,000,000 
worth is mined in the state of California each year, with 
a total production of over $1,500,000,000. Later the silver 
mines in Nevada were discovered and developed, and their 
immense output brought increased wealth to San Francisco. 

As time went on, however, people began to see that 
California’s real wealth lay not so much in her mines 
as in her fertile farm lands. These, combined with the 


SAN FRANCISCO 229 

wonderful climate, have made California a leading agri¬ 
cultural state. 

The great central valley of California, about 400 miles 
long and 50 miles wide, lies between the Sierra Nevada 
Mountains and the Coast Ranges. Its farms, orchards, 
orange groves, and vineyards produce immense quantities 



AN ORANGE GROVE 


of grain, and of grapes, and other fruits. Large numbers 
of cattle and sheep are raised. In the southern counties 
many tropical fruits are grown successfully. Irrigated 
groves of orange, lemon, and olive trees cover thousands 
of acres. Other important crops are English walnuts, 
almonds, prunes, and figs. Copper, silver, oil, quicksilver, 
and salt are also valuable products, while the forest-covered 




230 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


mountains supply excellent lumber. Such is the wealth of 
California’s natural resources, and San Francisco is the 
great port and market of this rich back country. 

As the Sacramento River flows into San Francisco Bay 
from the north and the San Joaquin from the south, the 



PICKING GRAPES 


two offer cheap transportation up and down their valleys, 
being navigable to river steamers for over 200 miles. 

The great bay of San Francisco is the largest land¬ 
locked harbor in the world. Here the navies of all the 
nations could ride at anchor side by side in safety. 
Though 65 miles long and from 4 to 10 miles wide, the 
bay is completely sheltered from dangerous winds and 
storms. It is connected with the Pacific Ocean by a 




SAN FRANCISCO 


231 


strait called the Golden Gate, which is 2^ miles long 
and over a mile wide. 

Such advantages have made San Francisco a great 
commercial and financial center. Ships from San Fran¬ 
cisco carry the products of California westward to all the 



THE GOLDEN GATE 


countries bordering on the Pacific, while others sail to 
the Atlantic seaports of America and Europe. 

The outgoing steamers are loaded with wheat, cotton, 
canned goods, oil, barley, prunes, flour, dried fruits, 
leather, machinery, lumber, and iron manufactures. In¬ 
coming steamers bring raw silk, coffee, tea, copra, nitrate 
of soda, tin ingots, sugar, rice, cigars, coal, burlap, vanilla 
beans, cheese, and manila hemp. 





232 










SAN FRANCISCO 233 

Already the foreign commerce of San Francisco amounts 
to more than $150,000,000 annually, and with the increas¬ 
ing trade of Japan and China and the shortened route to 
the Atlantic through the Panama Canal, the future of its 
foreign trade cannot be estimated. 

In addition to her foreign trade, San Francisco has 
many growing industries at home. Printing and publish¬ 
ing, slaughtering and meat packing, are among the most 
important. The 
canning and pre¬ 
serving of fruits 
and vegetables is 
a leading industry 
of the city. The 
California Fruit 
Canners Associa¬ 
tion employs many 
thousands of peo¬ 
ple during the fruit 
season and is the a flower market 

largest fruit-and- 

vegetable canning company in the world. It operates thirty 
branches throughout the state, and its products are sent to 
all parts of the globe. 

Though iron has to be imported, — there being little 
mined in California, — the city does a thriving iron busi¬ 
ness. In the early days there was need of mining 
machinery in the West, and San Francisco at that time 
began manufacturing it. She also has one of the greatest 
shipbuilding plants in the United States. The famous 
battleship Oregon , the Olympic, the Wisconsin , the Ohio, 





234 
































































































































































































































































































































































SAN FRANCISCO 


235 


and other ships of the United States Navy were built in 
San Francisco. 

In 1906 a severe earthquake shook San Francisco, 
wrecking many buildings. Fire broke out in twenty 
places, and as the earthquake had broken the city’s water 
mains, the fire fighters had to pump salt water from the 



ON SAN FRANCISCO’S WATER FRONT 


bay and use dynamite to stop the progress of the flames. 
During the three days of the fire, four square miles were 
laid in ruins. 

Because of occasional slight shocks in former years, the 
inhabitants had built their city of wood, thinking it safer 
than brick or stone. They had not thought of the greater 
danger of fire. This earthquake taught them a lesson. 




236 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 

The few skyscrapers in the city had stood the shock re¬ 
markably well, and profiting by this experience thousands 
of modern structures — steel, brick, and reenforced con¬ 
crete— were built to replace the old wooden buildings. 
A far more modern and beautiful city has arisen from 

the ashes of the ruins. 

The city occupies 
461 square miles at 
the end of the south¬ 
ern peninsula which 
lies between San Fran¬ 
cisco Bay and the 
Pacific Ocean. The 
site of the city is 
hilly, especially in the 
northern and western 
parts. Market Street, 
120 feet wide and 
the chief business 
thoroughfare, extends 
southwest from the 
water front and di- 
chinatown vides the city into two 

parts. The southern 
district contains many manufacturing plants and the 
homes of the laboring people. The streets here are level. 
North of Market Street lie three high hills — Telegraph 
Hill, Nob Hill, and Russian Hill. In this half of the city 
are the finest residences, Nob Hill having been given its 
name in the early days when the mining millionaires 
built their homes upon it. 






SAN FRANCISCO 


237 


The main business section is in the northeastern part 
of the city, facing the harbor, and is on level ground. It 
contains hundreds of new office buildings, many of them 
from eight to twenty or more stories high. Fine modern 
hotels and beautiful banks add much to the beauty of this 
part of San Fran¬ 
cisco. The most 
important public 
buildings are the 
United States mint 
and the post office, 
which escaped the 
flames in 1906, the 
customhouse, the 
Hall of Justice, 
the new Audito¬ 
rium, and the city 
hall. These last 
two face the Civic 
Center, which is 
being created at 
a cost of nearly 
117,000,000. 

At the foot of 
Telegraph Hill is 
the largest Chinese quarter in the United States. It was 
completely destroyed during the fire, but is now rebuilt 
and much improved. Its temples, joss houses, and theaters, 
its markets, bazaars, and restaurants, with their strange 
life and customs and their oriental architecture, attract 
crowds of visitors. There are now about 10,000 Chinese 







238 GBEAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


in San Francisco, but their number has been steadily de¬ 
creasing since the Exclusion Act was passed, prohibiting 
Chinese laborers from entering this country. It was 
thought necessary to have this law in order to protect 
the American workingman on the Pacific coast, as the 



FISHERMAN’S WHARF 


Chinese laborers who had already been admitted were 
working for wages upon which no white man could live. 

At the foot of Market Street, on the water front, 
stands the Union Ferry Building, a large stone structure 
with a high clock tower. 

Only one of the cross-continent railroads — a branch of 
the Southern Pacific — lands its passengers in the city of 
San Francisco. All the other roads, which include the 





SAN FRANCISCO 


230 



main line of the Southern Pacific, the Atchison, Topeka 
& Santa Fe, the Union Pacific, and the Western Pacific, 
terminate on the eastern shore of the bay and send the 
travelers to San Francisco by ferry. In consequence, San 
Francisco has developed the best ferry service in the 
world, all lines meeting at the Union Ferry Building. 


MT. TAMALPAIS FROM NOB HILL 

North and south of the Union Ferry Building stretch 
eight miles of wharves and docks and many factories, 
lumber yards, and warehouses. At the docks, ships are 
being loaded and unloaded continually. 

In March and April each year a fleet of forty or fifty 
vessels starts out for the Alaskan fisheries. San Francisco is 
the leading salmon port of the United States, distributing 




240 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


millions of dollars’ worth of salmon yearly. Fisherman’s 
Wharf, at the northern end of the water front, is full 
of interest, with its brown, weather-beaten fishermen and 
their odd fishing boats. To the south of the Union Ferry 
Building is " Man-of-war Row,” where United States and 
foreign battleships ride at anchor. 



PRESIDIO TERRACE 


The cities of Alameda, Oakland, Richmond, and Berke¬ 
ley are directly across the bay from San Francisco, on the 
east shore. Like New York, San Francisco is the center 
of a large metropolitan district, and the residents of these 
neighboring cities daily travel to their work in San Fran¬ 
cisco on the ferries. For several years there has been talk 
of uniting these cities with San Francisco. If this plan were 





SAN FRANCISCO 


241 


carried out, it would add over 350,000 to San Francisco’s 
present population, which is between 400,000 and 500,000. 

The University of California, in Berkeley, has nearly 
7000 students, tuition being free to residents of Cali¬ 
fornia. The Leland Stanford University, 30 miles from 
San Francisco, is another noted institution in the state. 



THE TOWER OF JEWELS OF THE PANAMA-PACIFIC EXPOSITION 


To the north of the Golden Gate is Mt. Tamalpais, 
2592 feet high, overlooking the bay and San Francisco. 
To the south is the Presidio, the United States military 
reservation, covering 1542 acres. Here are the harbor 
fortifications and the headquarters of the western division 
of the United States Army. Fronting on the ocean beach 











242 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 




and extending east¬ 
ward for 4 miles is 
Golden Gate Park, 
the largest of San 
Francisco’s many 
parks and squares. 

Occupying part 
of the Presidio and 
facing the water at 
the northern end 


in golden gate park the city is the 

site of the Panama- 

Pacific International Exposition, held in 1915 to celebrate 
the completion of 
the Panama Canal. 

That the citizens of 
San Francisco look 
to the future was 
shown at a gather¬ 
ing of business men 
in 1910, when more 
than $4,000,000 was 
raised in two hours 
for this Panama ex¬ 
position. The cli¬ 
mate of the city 
(averaging more 
than 50 degrees in 
winter and less than 
60 degrees in sum¬ 
mer), the beauties 


IN FRONT OF THE EXPOSITION’S PALACE 
OF FINE ARTS 
















SAN FRANCISCO 


243 


and wonders of California, the romantic history of the city, 
exhibits from many parts of the world — all these, the citi¬ 
zens knew, would attract thousands of visitors from afar 
and make known to the world the advantages and pros¬ 
perity of the Far West and its chief city, San Francisco. 


SAN FRANCISCO 

FACTS TO REMEMBER 

Population (1910), over 400,000 (416,912). 

Eleventh city according to population. 

Largest city of the Western States. 

One of the finest harbors in the world. 

The natural shipping point for the products of the rich 
state of California. 

Chief center for the trade of the United States with the 
Orient. 

Leads all American cities in the shipment of wheat. 

Has great canning and preserving industries. 


QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY 

1. Find by measurements on a map of the United States 
the distance of San Francisco from New York City in a 
direct line. 

2. Find by consulting time tables or by inquiry of some 
railroad official how long it would take to make the journey 
from New York to San Francisco, and what railroad system 
might be used. Answer this question, applying it to your 
own city. 

3. Who founded San Francisco, and what was it first called ? 

4. When and how did San Francisco become an American 
possession ? 



244 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


5. Of what was the great wealth of California supposed 
to consist at first ? What is the great wealth of the state 
considered to be to-day ? 

6. What are the chief exports of the city, and to what 
countries are they sent? 

7 . What are the chief imports of the city ? 

8. What are the great advantages of San Francisco Bay ? 

9. When did the great fire at San Francisco occur, and 
what damage was done ? 

10. What benefit will San Francisco derive from the com¬ 
pletion of the Panama Canal ? 

11. Why is the ferry system of San Francisco so 
important ? 

12. Name four cities across the bay from San Francisco, 
and tell how they are related to that city. 

13 . Tell something of the fishing industry of San 
Francisco. 

14 . Does the name " Golden Gate ” seem appropriate to 
you ? Why ? 

15. Name the chief industries of San Francisco. 

16. Describe the location of the city. 

17 . Find out how many days’ journey by steamship are 
the following places from San Francisco: 


Honolulu 

Manila 

Sydney 


Shanghai 
Yokohama 
Buenos Aires 



NEW ORLEANS 


The story of New Orleans, the Crescent City, reads like 
a wonderful romance or a tale from the Arabian Nights. 
As in a moving picture, one can see men making a clear¬ 
ing along the east bank of the Mississippi River, one 
hundred and ten miles from its mouth. It is 1718. The 
French Canadian Bienville has been made governor of the 
great tract of land called Louisiana, and he has decided 
to found a settlement near the river’s mouth. 

At the end of three years the little French town, named 
for the duke of Orleans, stands peacefully on the banks 
of the great Mississippi, its people buying, selling, fight¬ 
ing duels, and steadily thriving until the close of the 
French and Indian War. Then France cedes Louisiana 
to Spain, and for some years New Orleans is under 
Spanish rule. In 1800, however, Spain cedes Louisiana 
back to France, and once more New Orleans has a French 
commissioner and is a French possession. 

Again the scene changes. Energetic, sturdy men sail 
down the river, land in the quaint little town, and march 
to the Cabildo, or Government Hall, where they receive 
the keys of the town. Because of the Louisiana Purchase, 

245 























246 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


New Orleans with all its inhabitants — Spanish, French, 
Italians, and Jews — is being given over to the United 
States. The French flag is taken down, and the Stars and 
Stripes are unfurled over what was, and is to-day, the 
least American of all American cities. 

As the history of New Orleans unrolls, one follows the 
thrilling scenes of a great battle. It is in the War of 

1812, and on the last 
day of December, 1814, 
the British begin an at¬ 
tack on the city, with 
an army of 10,000 
trained soldiers. They 
mean to capture New 
Orleans and gain con¬ 
trol of Louisiana and the 
mouth of the Mississippi. 

Andrew Jackson com¬ 
mands the American 
forces, made up of reg¬ 
ulars, militia, pirates, 
negroes, and volunteers, 
numbering only about 
half the attacking British 
army. Day after day goes by with no great victory gained 
on either side, until Sunday, January 8, dawns. With the 
daylight, the British commence a furious assault. But 
Jackson and his men are ready for them. Rushing back 
and forth along his line of defense, the commander cries 
out, " Stand by your guns ! ” " See that every shot tells! ” 
"Let’s finish the business to-day!” Many of Jackson’s 










NEW ORLEANS 


247 



men are sharpshooters. Time and again they aim and fire, 
and time and again the enemy advance, fall back, rally, 
and try to advance once more. But in three short hours 
the British leader and more than 2500 men have dropped, 
hundreds shot between the eyes. It is no use! In confu¬ 
sion the British turn and flee. Jackson has saved the city. 


THE CABILDO 

In the Civil War the turn of affairs is different. Louis¬ 
iana was one of the seven states to secede from the Union 
in 1860 and form themselves into the Confederate States 
of America. Of course this made New Orleans a Con¬ 
federate city. Naturally, the north wanted to capture 
New Orleans in order to control the mouth of the 











248 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


Mississippi River. This time the attacking force is a 
Union fleet, and the defenders of the city are stanch 
Confederates who have done all in their power to prevent 
the approach of the Northerners. Across the river, near 
its mouth, two great cables have been stretched, and be¬ 
tween the cables and the city are a Confederate fleet and 
two forts, one on each side of the river. 

The Union fleet under David Farragut appears, opens 
fire on the forts, and keeps up the attack for six days 
and nights. Still the forts hold out. Then Farragut de¬ 
cides that since he cannot take the forts he will run 
his ships past them. But there are the cables blocking his 
way. The steamer Itasca undertakes to break them and 
rushes upon them under a raking fire from both forts. 
The cables snap. That night the Union ships, in single 
file, start up the river. At last the forts are passed and 
the Confederate ships overcome, but not the spirit of the 
people of New Orleans. They fight to the finish as best 
they can. Cotton bales are piled on rafts, set afire, and 
floated downstream among the Union ships. Still the 
ships come on. At least the Northerners shall not take 
the valuable stores of cotton, sugar, and molasses! So 
the cotton ships are fired, and hogsheads of molasses and 
barrels of sugar are hurriedly destroyed. When the Union 
forces land and take possession, the people of New Orleans, 
though heartbroken, know that they have done their best. 

Then comes peace. The war is over, and New Orleans 
is once more a city of the United States. 

To-day New Orleans presents the unusual combination 
of an old city, full of historic interest, and a splendid new 
city, a place of industry, progress, and opportunity. 


NEW ORLEANS 


249 


The successful building of a great city on the site of 
New Orleans is a triumph of engineering skill. As the 
city lies below the high-water mark of the Mississippi, it 
was necessary to build great banks of earth to hold back 
the water in the flood season. Thesfe levees, as they are 
called, form the water front of the city. 

In the early days the only drinking-water in New 
Orleans was rain water caught from the roofs and stored in 
cisterns. Imagine a city without a single cellar. Then not 
even a grave could be dug in the marshy soil. The ceme¬ 
teries were all aboveground. In some cemeteries there 
were tiers of little vaults, one above the other, in which 
the dead were laid. In others, magnificent tombs provided 
resting places for the wealthy. Such was old New Orleans. 
To-day modern sewers and huge steam pumps draw off 
the sewage and excess water, discharging them into the 
river, while a splendid water system filters water taken 
from higher up the river, giving a supply as pure as that 
enjoyed by any city in our land. The marshes have been 
drained by the construction of canals, which are used as 
highways for bringing raw materials from the surrounding 
country to the factories of New Orleans. Many of these 
canals extend for miles into the interior of the state 
of Louisiana. 

The city proper covers nearly two hundred square miles 
and is laid out in beautiful streets, parks, and driveways, 
crossed in many places by picturesque waterways. Here 
are splendid trees, belonging both to the temperate zone 
and to the tropics. Palms and cypresses abound. In the 
City Park is one of the finest groves of live oaks in the 
world. Audubon Park, named for the great lover of birds, 



250 

















































































































































































































NEW ORLEANS 


251 


who was bom near this city, is another of the beautiful 
parks of New Orleans. 

Canal Street divides New Orleans into two sections, 
with the Old Town, or French Quarter, on one side and the 
New Town, or American Quarter, on the other. This 
is the main thoroughfare of the city. It is a wide street, 



CANAL STREET 


well-kept and busy. Here are many of the great retail 
stores, and to this street comes every car line. From 
Canal Street one may take a car to any section of the 
city, and a car taken in any part of New Orleans will 
sooner or later bring one to Canal Street. On this street 
are handsome stores, club buildings, hotels, railroad sta¬ 
tions, and the United States customhouse. The upper 
end of the street is a beautiful residence section, whose 







252 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


houses are surrounded by spacious lawns and fine trees. 
Almost all of these houses have wide galleries, or verandas, 
upon which their owners may sit and enjoy, all the year 
round, the balmy air of the southern climate. Very sel¬ 
dom does the temperature drop below BO degrees Fahren¬ 
heit. Usually it is between 50 and 60 degrees, and even 



A CREOLE COURTYARD 


in summer it varies only between 75 and 90 degrees. New 
Orleans is really cooler in summer than some of our 
northern cities, being so surrounded by river and lakes. 

The old New Orleans lies northeast of Canal Street. 
Here the early settlers established their homes, and in 
this French Quarter the French language is still in com¬ 
mon use, and many old French customs are observed. 




NEW ORLEANS 


253 


The streets, many of which bear French names, are narrow 
and roughly paved and are closely built up with old- 
fashioned brick buildings ornamented with iron verandas. 
Open gateways in the front of many a gloomy-looking 
house give us a glimpse of attractive interior courts, gay 
with flowers and splashing fountains. Many other courts, 



JACKSON SQUARE AND THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. LOUIS 


alas, are deserted or neglected, for this is no longer the 
fashionable section of New Orleans. Most of the city’s 
creole population lives in the French Quarter. These 
people are the descendants of the early French and 
Spanish inhabitants. 

In the French Quarter is Jackson Square, which was the 
center of governmental life in the early years of the city. 




254 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


Here are the Cabildo — the old Spanish court building — 
and the Cathedral of St. Louis, an old and beautiful church. 
On Chartres Street is the Archiepiscopal Palace, said to 
be the oldest public building in the Mississippi Valley. 

The French Market is one of the world’s famous market 
places. In the long low buildings occupying four city 
blocks may be found fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, and 



BAYOU ST. JOHN 


game in wonderful variety. To the Oyster Lugger Land¬ 
ing come the oyster boats, bringing from the bays of the 
Gulf coast some of the finest oysters in America. Other 
points of interest in the French Quarter are the Royal 
Hotel, formerly known as the St. Louis Hotel; the 
United States mint; the Soldiers’ Home, whose gardens 
are noted for their beauty; Bayou St. John, a picturesque 
waterway; and Jackson Barracks. 






NEW ORLEANS 


255 


Two other places must not be slighted. In the Ursuline 
convent stands a statue before which, on January 8, 1815, 
the nuns prayed for the success of the Americans in 
the battle of New Orleans. Then there is St. Roch’s 
Shrine, a chapel built by Father Thevis. Each stone in it 
was placed by his 
own hands, in ful¬ 
fillment of a vow 
that " if none of his 
parishioners should 
die of an epidemic, 
he would, stone by 
stone, build a chapel 
in thanksgiving to 
God.” This ancient 
shrine is visited by 
thousands of people 
every year. 

To the southwest 
of Canal Street is 
the American Quar¬ 
ter. This was origi¬ 
nally a tract of land, 
known as the Terre 
Commune, reserved by the French government for public 
use. But after a while the land was laid out in streets. 
Soon the merchants of this section began to trade with 
the North and West. The river boats landed in front of 
the Faubourg St. Marie, as this part of the city was then 
called, bringing tobacco, cotton, pork, beef, corn, flour, 
and fabrics. Commercial buildings sprang up, and as the 



ST. ROCH’S CHAPEL 








256 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


trade was distinctly American, the district came to be 
known as the American Quarter. 

In the days when the French Quarter was all there was 
of New Orleans, the city was in the shape of a half moon 
or crescent. The newer part of the city follows the course 



ST. CHARLES AVENUE 


of the river and makes the New Orleans of to-day more 
like a letter S. 

St. Charles Avenue is the most beautiful residential 
street in the American Quarter. It is a wide avenue with 
driveways on either side of a grassy parkway. Rows of 
trees, many of them stately palms, border the avenue. 
Here are splendid homes, each with its flower beds and 
gardens of tropical plants. 





NEW OKLEANS 


257 


Churches and charitable institutions abound in New 
Orleans. One of the latter, Touro Infirmary, covers an 
entire city block. This infirmary was endowed by Judah 
Touro, a Jew, and is supported by Jews, but receives suf¬ 
ferers of any creed. In its courtyard is a fountain erected 
by the Hebrew children of New Orleans. 

Tulane University is the most renowned educational 
institution in the city, and is noted for its medical and 
engineering departments. On Washington Avenue is the 
H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College for young women, 
which is the women’s department of Tulane University. 

The great hotels and many restaurants of the city are 
noted throughout the United States. The creole cooks 
have made famous such dishes as chicken gumbo, chicken 
a la creole, and pompano. 

The country around New Orleans is one of the richest 
in the world. Within a few hours’ ride of the city are 
great fields of cotton, sugar, and rice. Two hundred miles 
from the city are immense deposits of sulphur and salt. 
Oil fields are within easy reach, and coal is brought by 
water from the mines of Alabama and even from Penn¬ 
sylvania. Great forests to the north furnish lumber which 
is transported by water to the city, making New Orleans 
one of the foremost ports in lumber exportation. 

The immense sugar-cane fields of the South look very 
much like the cornfields of the more northern states. 
Negroes cut the cane close to the ground, as the lower part 
of the stalk has the most sugar. After the leaves and 
tops have been trimmed off, the stalks are shipped to the 
presses, cut into small pieces, and crushed between heavy 
rollers. The juice is strained, boiled, and worked over to 


258 GBEAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


remove the impurities, and then, in a brownish mass called 
raw sugar, is sent to great refineries to be made by more 
boiling and other processes into the white sugar we use 
daily. This sugar industry is very important, as figures 
show that each American, both grown-ups and children, 



A SUGAli-CANE FIELD 


consumes an average of more than seventy pounds of 
sugar a year. 

Away down South is the land of .cotton as well as the 
land of sugar, and there is no more beautiful sight than a 
field white with the opening bolls of the cotton plant. 
Between the long white rows pass the picturesque negroes 
with their big baskets into which they put the soft fleecy 
cotton as they pick it from the bolls. The raw cotton is 




NEW ORLEANS 


259 


then sent to the cot¬ 
ton gin, where the 
seeds are taken out 
to be made into cot¬ 
tonseed oil. The cot¬ 
ton itself is shipped 
to factories where it 
is made into thread 
and cotton cloth of 
all kinds. In addi¬ 
tion to the immense 
quantities sent to 
the mills in various 
parts of the United 
States, New Orleans 
ships to Europe each 
year over $100,000,- 
000 worth. When 
the cotton reaches 
the city it is in the 
form of bales covered 
with coarse cloth 
and bound with iron 
bands. The great 
steamers waiting at 
the dock must fill 
their holds to the 
best advantage in 
order that they may 
carry as large an 
amount as possible 



A SUGAR REFINERY 







260 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


on each voyage. The cotton as it comes from the planta¬ 
tion presses occupies too much space. It is interesting to 
stand near the steamship landings and see the workmen 
cast off the iron bands and place the bales between the 
powerful jaws of huge presses which seem, almost without 



A BANANA CONVEYOR 


effort, to close down upon the mass of fleecy whiteness and 
cause it to shrink from four feet to about one foot in 
thickness. While the cotton is still under pressure, iron 
bands are once more placed upon it, and the bale is then 
taken from the press. After this process four bales can be 
loaded on the steamer in the space which one plantation 
bale would have occupied. 



NEW ORLEANS 


261 


The location of New Orleans near the mouth of the 
Mississippi and close enough to the Gulf of Mexico to be 
called a Gulf port makes it naturally the great port of 
exchange of all the products of the Mississippi Valley, the 
islands of the Gulf, and the countries on the north coast 
of South America. It is the second largest export port in 
America and is the world’s greatest export market for 
cotton. Oysters and fish in abundance are brought to 
the city from the Gulf, making New Orleans one of the 
largest fish-and-oyster markets in the United States. More 
bananas arrive at New Orleans than at any other port 
in the world. The great bunches of fruit are unloaded 
by machinery, placed upon specially designed cars, and 
sent by the fastest trains to the various parts of the 
United States. With the sugar-producing districts so 
near, New Orleans is, of course, one of our country’s chief 
sugar markets. The largest sugar refinery in the world is 
located here. 

We have already mentioned the water front, but this 
important and interesting part of the city deserves more 
attention. For fifteen miles along the river, the port of this 
great city stretches in an almost unbroken line of wharves 
and steel sheds. The steamboat landings are near the foot 
of Canal Street, and here may be seen the river packets 
from Northern cities and the little stern-wheelers which 
run up Red River. Above is the flatboat landing, and 
further on still are the tropical-fruit wharves and miles of 
wharves for foreign shipping. 

Just below Canal Street are the sugar sheds, where 
barrels and hogsheads of sugar and molasses cover blocks 
and blocks. At Julia Street are huge coffee sheds where 


262 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



more than 80,000 
bags of coffee, each 
bag holding about 
188 pounds, can be 
stored in the large 
steel warehouses. 
At Louisiana Ave¬ 
nue are the huge 
Stuyvesant Docks, 
which cover 2000 
feet of river front¬ 
age. One of the 
big elevators here 
will hold 1,500,000 
bushels of grain, 
another 1,000,000 
bushels. Each one 
can unload 250 
cars a day and de¬ 
liver freight to 4 
steamships at the 
same time. 

While the peo¬ 
ple of this inter¬ 
esting Southern 
city are great 
workers, they are 
quite as fond of 
play as of work. 
Their love of music 
is shown by their 











NEW ORLEANS 


263 


fine opera house, where celebrated French operas are given. 
Because of its gayety, which attracts many visitors, espe¬ 
cially in winter, New Orleans has been called the Winter 
Capital of America. 

The city’s great holiday is the Mardi Gras carnival, 
which is celebrated just before Lent. The keys of the city 
are then given over to the King of the Carnival, and all 
day long high revelry holds sway. Brilliant floats, repre¬ 
senting scenes of wonderful quaintness and loveliness, 
parade through flower-garlanded avenues thronged with 
people who have come from every quarter of the globe. 
Carried away by the spirit of the fete, these guests join 
with the citizens in turning New Orleans for the time into 
a fairy city of wonder and delight. 


NEW ORLEANS 

FACTS TO REMEMBER 

Population (1910), nearly 350,000 (339,075). 

Fifteenth city in rank, according to population. 

The natural port of export and exchange for the Missis¬ 
sippi Valley. 

The second largest export port in the United States. 

The world’s greatest export market for cotton. 

The center of a great sugar industry. 

A great import port for tropical fruit and coffee. 
Splendid harbor and shipping facilities along the river. 
Excellent communications by water and rail with other 
great American cities. 

Protected by great levees from overflow of the Missis¬ 
sippi River. 

Holds annually a great Mardi Gras carnival. 



264 GREAT CITIES OE THE UNITED STATES 


QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY 

1. Tell briefly the story of the settlement of New Orleans. 

2. Can you tell why it was important for the United States 
to own New Orleans ? 

3. Describe the city’s part in two wars. What wars were 
they? 

4. What great natural disadvantages were overcome in 
improving the city of New Orleans, and how was it done ? 

5. State some facts about the principal business street of 
the city. What unusual arrangement of street cars is found 
in New Orleans ? 

6. Contrast the French Quarter of the past with the same 
section as it is to-day. 

7. What is interesting about Jackson Square? 

8. Tell what you can of the river front. 

9. What are the chief imports and exports of New 
Orleans ? 

10. Give a brief account of the preparation of cotton, from 
the field to its being loaded for shipment to foreign lands. 

11. Do you know why so much cotton is sent to foreign 
countries ? 

12. Tell how sugar is made from the sugar cane. Do you 
know from what else we get sugar? 

13. Tell what you can of the Mardi Gras carnival. 

14. Find by reference to a map of the United States the 
great cities which may be reached by river steamers from 
New Orleans. 

15. Why was New Orleans called the Crescent City? 



THE CAPITAL CITY 

Washington, the capital city of our nation, is the 
center of interest for the whole country. Every citizen 
of the United States thinks of the city of Washington 
as a place in which he has a personal pride. 

Here one may see in operation the work of governing 
a great nation. The representatives whom the people 
have chosen meet in the splendid Capitol to make laws 
for the whole country. The home of the president is 
here, and here are located the headquarters of the great 
departments of our government. 

The capital city is a city of splendid trees, of wide, 
well-paved streets and handsome avenues. At the inter¬ 
section of many of the streets and avenues are beautiful 
parks and circles, ornamented by statues of the great 
men of the nation. 

" How,” we are asked, " did it happen that the capital 
of a great nation was built almost on its eastern bound¬ 
ary?” The distance from Washington to San Francisco 
is 3205 miles. In other words, Washington is almost as 
near to London as to San Francisco. The answer is simple. 

265 






















266 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


The site was chosen when the settled part of our country 
lay between the Allegheny Mountains and the Atlantic 
Ocean. At that time most of the land west of the 
Alleghenies was looked upon as a wilderness whose 
settlement was uncertain, while no one dreamed that 
the infant nation would extend its boundaries to the 
Pacific Ocean. 

" And why was it decided to build a new city as the 
nation’s capital, on a site where there was not even a 
settlement ? Why was not some city already established 
chosen to be the chief city of the nation ? ” The story 
is interesting. 

Before the Revolutionary War the colonies were much 
like thirteen independent nations, having little to do with 
one another, but during the war a common peril held 
them together in a loose union. With the danger passed 
and independence won, this union threatened to dissolve, 
but thanks to the influence of the wisest and best men 
in the country the thirteen states finally became one 
nation and adopted the Constitution which governs the 
United States to-day. Then discussion arose as to the 
site of the new nation’s capital. Several states clamored 
for the honor of having one of their cities chosen as the 
government city. The men who framed the Constitution 
were wise enough, however, to foresee difficulty if this 
were done, and insisted that the seat of government 
should be in no state but in a small territory which 
should be controlled entirely by the national government. 

After much debate the present location was chosen, 
and the two states of Maryland and Virginia each gave 
to the federal government entire control over a small 


WASHINGTON 267 

territory on the Potomac River. The two pieces of land 
formed a square, ten miles on each side. The territory was 
named the District of Columbia, and the city to be built 
was called Washington in honor of our first president, 
whose home, Mount Vernon, was but a few miles away. 
Later, in 1846, the Virginia part of the District was given 



MOUNT VEIiNON 


back, so now all the District is on the Maryland side of 
the Potomac and is no longer in the shape of a square. 

A firm belief in the future of Washington led to the 
making of very elaborate and extensive plans for laying 
out the city. But as the public buildings began to rise, 
with great stretches of unimproved country between them, 
many thought the plans much too elaborate and feared 
that the attempt to build a new city would end in failure. 
It was in the fall of 1800 when the government moved 
to Washington. Then, in 1814, when things had taken 



268 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


a start, a dreadful misfortune happened; just a few 
months before the close of the war of 1812, the British 
attacked the city and burned both the Capitol and the 
White House. In spite of these early discouragements 
and years of ridicule, the capital has fully justified the 
plans and hopes of the far-seeing men who built not 

for their own day but 
for the years to come. 

Perhaps one gets the 
best idea of the city to¬ 
day from the height of 
the Capitol’s beautiful 
dome that rises over 
three hundred feet above 
the pavement. There is 
a gallery around the out¬ 
side of the dome, just 
below the lantern which 
lights its summit, and 
from here one can see 
for miles in any direc¬ 
tion. 

Our view of the city from this height shows us that 
most of the streets are straight and run either north and 
south or east and west. The east and west streets are let¬ 
tered ; those running north and south are numbered. One 
might easily imagine four great checkerboards placed 
together, with the Capitol standing at the point where the 
four boards meet. I say four checkerboards, because from 
the Capitol three great streets go to the north, the south, 
and the east, while a broad park runs away to the west, 














WASHINGTON 


269 


thus dividing the city into four sections. Running across 
the regularly planned streets of these checkerboards are 
broad avenues, many of which seem to come like spokes 
of wheels from parks placed in different sections of the 
city. These avenues are named for different states. 



LOOKING WEST FROM THE DOME OF THE CAPITOL 


Close about us is a splendid group of majestic build¬ 
ings. The Capitol, upon the brow of the hill overlooking 
the western part of the city, is the center of the group. 
To the north and south of the Capitol rise the beautiful 
marble buildings for the use of the committees of the 
Senate and the House of Representatives. To the east is 
the Library of Congress, the most beautiful building of its 
kind in the world. 





270 


THE CITY OF WASHINGTON 
































WASHINGTON 


271 


Toward the northwest and southeast runs Pennsylvania 
Avenue, one hundred sixty feet wide, the most famous 
street in the city. About a mile and a half up Pennsyl¬ 
vania Avenue from the Capitol is another imposing group 
of public buildings. Here are the Treasury Department, 
the Executive Mansion, — the home of the president, — 
and the State, War, and Navy Building. Pennsylvania 


m i. 



A VIEW OF PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE 


Avenue leads past the fronts of these buildings and on for 
more than two miles to the far-western part of the city. 

Directly west from the Capitol we look along the fine 
parkways which divide the city in that direction just as 
do the main streets which run from the Capitol to the 
north, east, and south. This handsome series of parks is 
called the Mall. In the Mall are a number of public 
buildings placed in an irregular line stretching west 
from the Capitol, with sufficient distance between them 







272 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


to allow spacious grounds for each building. Here we 
find the home of the Bureau of Fisheries, the Army 
Medical Museum, the National Museum, the Smithsonian 
Institution, the Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of 
Engraving and Printing, and the Washington Monument. 

As we walk around the gallery of the Capitol dome, 
we see that almost every street and avenue is lined on 
either side with beautiful shade trees which give the city 
a gardenlike appearance. And looking toward the south 
we see the eastern branch of the Potomac meeting the 
main stream and flowing away in a majestic river, over a 
mile in width. On all sides of the city the land rises 
in beautiful green hills, guarding the nation’s capital as it 
lies nestled between the river’s protecting arms. 

Having this picture of the general plan of Washington, 
let us visit some of the buildings; first of all the Capitol, 
for it is the most imposing as well as the most important 
building in the city. For a good view of the building, 
walk out upon the spacious esplanade which extends 
across the eastern front. Even here it is hard to appre¬ 
ciate that the Capitol is over 751 feet long, 350 feet wide, 
and covers more than 3^ acres of ground. The eastern 
front shows the building to have three divisions, a central 
building and a northern and a southern wing. Each divi¬ 
sion has a splendid portico with stately Corinthian columns 
and a broad flight of steps leading to the portico from 
the eastern esplanade. 

Every four years a new president of the United States 
is elected, and March 4 is the day on which he takes 
office. On this day a great stand is put up over the steps 
leading to the central portico of the Capitol, and upon 



THE UNITED STATES CAP1TOI 


























274 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



this platform a most imposing ceremony takes place. Here 
the new president, in the presence of all the members of 
Congress, the representatives of foreign nations, many dis¬ 
tinguished guests, and an immense throng of people, takes 
upon himself the obligations of his high office. The Chief 
Justice of the Supreme Court holds a Bible before the 


WHEN PRESIDENT WILSON WAS INAUGURATED 

president, who places his hand upon it and repeats these 
words: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully exe¬ 
cute the office of President of the United States, and will, 
to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the 
Constitution of the United States.” After the president 
has delivered his inaugural address, a splendid procession 
escorts him to his new home, the Executive Mansion. 












WASHINGTON 


275 


Above the central division of the Capitol building, 
which for many years served as the entire Capitol, rises 
the imposing dome from which we have just come. It is 
crowned with a lantern upon the top of which is placed 
the statue of Freedom. 

Across the western front of the Capitol is a marble 
terrace overlooking the lower part of the city. Though 
the western front is ornamented with colonnades of Corin¬ 
thian columns, it lacks the splendid approaches of the 
eastern side. 

This immense building, representing the dignity and 
greatness of our nation, is given over almost entirely to 
the work of lawmaking. In the central part is the large 
rotunda beneath the lofty dome. The northern wing is 
occupied by the Senate of the United States, while the 
southern wing is the home of the House of Representa¬ 
tives. We enter the rotunda by the broad stairs leading 
from the eastern esplanade and find ourselves in a great 
circular hall, almost a hundred feet in diameter, whose 
walls curve upward one hundred and eighty feet. At the 
top a beautiful canopy shows the Father of his Country 
in the company of figures representing the thirteen origi¬ 
nal states. About these are other figures, personifying 
commerce, freedom, mechanics, agriculture, dominion over 
the sea, and the arts and sciences. Encircling the upper 
part of the walls, but many feet below the canopy, is a 
frieze of scenes from the history of the United States. 

. Around the lower part of the walls are eight great 
paintings. Four of them are the work of one of Wash¬ 
ington’s officers, Colonel John Trumbull of Connecticut, 
and are of great interest because the figures are actual 


276 GREAT CITIES OE THE UNITED STATES 


portraits of the people represented. These paintings show 
the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the 
surrender of - Burgoyne at Saratoga, the surrender of 
Cornwallis at Yorktown, and the resignation of Gen¬ 
eral Washington at the close of the Revolution. 



STATUARY HALL, IN THE CAPITOL 


From the rotunda, broad corridors lead north to the 
Senate Chamber and south to the House of Representa¬ 
tives. Following the corridor to the south, we come to 
a large semicircular room. When the central division of 
the building was all there was to the Capitol, this room 
was occupied by the House of Representatives, and here 
were heard the speeches of Adams, Webster, Clay, Cal¬ 
houn, and many other famous statesmen. It is now set 





WASHINGTON 


277 


apart as a national statuary hall, where each state may 
place two statues of her chosen sons. As many of the 
states have been glad to honor their great men in this 
way, a splendid array of national heroes is gathered in 
the hall. Among the Revolutionary heroes we find Wash¬ 
ington, Ethan Allen, and Nathaniel Green. A statue of 
Fulton, sent by New York, shows him seated, looking at a 
model of his steamship. Of all these marble figures, per¬ 
haps none attracts more attention than that of Frances 
Elizabeth Willard, the great apostle of temperance, and 
to the state of Illinois belongs the distinction of having 
placed the only statue of a woman in this great collection. 

Leaving Statuary Hall, we go south to the Hall of 
Representatives. Here representatives from all the states 
gather to frame laws for the entire nation. Seated in 
the gallery it seems almost as if we were in a huge 
schoolroom, for the representatives occupy seats which 
are arranged in semicircles, facing a white marble desk 
upon a high platform reached by marble steps. This is 
the desk of the Speaker of the House. The Speaker’s 
duty is to preserve order and to see that the business of 
this branch of Congress is carried on as it should be. 
Before delivering a speech, a representative must have 
the Speaker’s permission. The Speaker is a most impor¬ 
tant person, for all business is transacted under his direc¬ 
tion. The representatives come from every state in the 
Union, and even far-off Hawaii, Alaska, and the Philip¬ 
pines are allowed to send delegates to this assembly to 
represent them in making laws. Think what a serious 
matter it would have been to the people of the far West 
to have the capital of their nation in the extreme Eastern 


278 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



section of the country if the development of the railroads, 
the telegraph, and the telephone had not made travel 
and communication so easy that great distances are no 
longer obstacles. 

But we can pay only a brief visit to the House of 
Representatives, for there is another body of lawmakers 


THE OPENING OF CONGRESS 

in the northern end of the Capitol which we wish to see. 
Back to the rotunda we go and then walk along a corri¬ 
dor leading to the northern, or Senate, end of the Capitol. 
Each day, for a number of months in the year, an inter¬ 
esting ceremony takes place in this corridor promptly 
at noon. Nine dignified men, clad in long black silk 
robes, march in solemn procession across the corridor 



WASHINGTON 


279 


and enter a stately chamber which, though smaller, re¬ 
sembles Statuary Hall in shape. These men make up 
the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest 
court of justice in the land. 

Often in cases at law a person does not feel that the 
decision of one court has been just. He may then have 
his case examined and passed upon by a higher court. 
This is called " appealing,” and some cases, for good 
cause, may be appealed from one court to another until 
they reach the Supreme Court. Beyond the Supreme 
Court there is no appeal. What this court decides must 
be accepted as final. The room in which the Supreme 
Court meets was once used as the Senate Chamber, and 
many of the great debates heard in the Senate before our 
Civil War were held in this room. 

The Senate Chamber of to-day is further down the 
north corridor. This room is not unlike the Hall of 
Representatives in plan and arrangement, though it is 
somewhat smaller. Instead of having a chairman of their 
own choosing, as is the case in the House, the Senate 
is presided over by the vice president of the United 
States. This high official, seated upon a raised platform, 
directs the proceedings of the Senate just as the Speaker 
directs those of the House of Representatives. There 
seems to be an air of greater solemnity and dignity in 
this small group of lawmakers than in the House of Rep¬ 
resentatives. It is smaller because each state is entitled to 
send but two senators to the Senate, whereas the number 
of representatives is governed by the number of inhabit¬ 
ants in the state. The populous state of New York has 
thirty-seven representatives and but two senators, the 


280 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


same number as the little state of Rhode Island whose 
population entitles it to only two representatives. 

The purpose of having two lawmaking bodies is to pro¬ 
vide a safeguard against hasty and unwise legislation. In 
the House of Representatives the most populous states 
have the greatest influence, while in the Senate all states 
are equally represented, and each state has two votes 



INAUGURAL PARADE ON PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE 


regardless of its size and population. Since every pro¬ 
posed law must be agreed to in both the Senate and the 
House before it is taken to the president for his approval, 
each body acts as a check on the other in lawmaking. 

Just to the east of the Capitol grounds stands the 
magnificent Library of Congress. This wonderful store¬ 
house of books is a marvelous palace. It covers almost 
an entire city block, and its towering gilded dome is visible 






WASHINGTON 


281 


from almost every part of the city. Once inside, we could 
easily believe ourselves in fairyland, so beautiful are the 
halls and the staircases of carved marble, so wonderful the 
paintings and the decorations. Every available space upon 
the walls and ceilings is adorned with pictures, with the 
names of the great men of the world, and with beautiful 



BOTANICAL GARDENS 


quotations from the poets and scholars who seem to live 
again in this magnificent building which is dedicated to 
the things they loved. 

In the center of the building, just beneath the gilded 
dome, is a rotunda slightly wider than the rotunda of the 
Capitol, though not so high. Here are desks for the use 
of those who wish to consult any volume of the immense 
collection of books. 







282 GBEAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


The books are kept in great structures called stacks, 
9 stories high and containing bookshelves which would 
stretch nearly 44 miles if placed in one line. Any one 
of the great collection of 1,800,000 volumes can be sent 
by machinery from the stacks to the reading room or to 
the Capitol. When a member of Congress wants a book 
which is in the Library, he need not leave the Capitol, 
for there is a tunnel connecting the two buildings through 
which runs a little car to carry books. 

The Librarian of Congress has charge of the enforce¬ 
ment of the copyright law. By means of this law an 
author may secure the exclusive right to publish a book, 
paper, or picture for twenty-eight years. One of the re¬ 
quirements of the copyright law is that the author must 
place in the Library of Congress two copies of whatever 
he has copyrighted. Hence, on the shelves of this great 
library may be found almost every book or paper pub¬ 
lished in the United States. 

Leaving the Library we once more find ourselves upon 
the great esplanade east of the Capitol. In the majestic 
white-marble buildings to the north and south, — known 
as the Senate and House office buildings, — committees 
of each House of Congress meet to discuss proposed laws. 

Having seen the lawmakers at work in the Capitol, 
let us visit the officials whose duty it is to enforce the 
laws made by Congress. 

Chief among these is the president of the United States. 
His house is officially known as the Executive Mansion, 
but nearly everybody speaks of it as the White House. 
The first public building erected in Washington was the 
White House. It is said that Washington himself chose 


WASHINGTON 


283 


the site. lie lived to see it built but not occupied, for 
the capital was not moved to the District of Columbia 
until 1800, a year after Washington’s death. 

This simple, stately building is a fitting home for the 
head of a great republic. In the main building are the 
living apartments of the president and his family, and 



THE WHITE HOUSE FROM THE NORTH 


the great rooms used for state receptions; the largest 
and handsomest of these is the famous East Room. Other 
rooms used on public occasions are known, from the color 
of the furnishings and hangings, as the Blue Room, the 
Green Room, and the Red Room. There is also the great 
State Dining Room, where the president entertains at 
dinner the important government officials and foreign 
representatives. 





284 GKEAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


In the Annex, adjoining the White House on the west, 
are the offices of the president and those who assist him 
in his work. In this part of the building is the cabinet 
room, where the president meets the heads of the various 
departments to consult with them concerning questions 
of national importance. 

Across the street from the president’s office is the im¬ 
mense granite building occupied by the three departments 



THE UNITED STATES TREASURY 


of State, War, and Navy. The secretaries in charge of 
these departments have their offices here, together with 
a small army of clerks. 

On the opposite side of the White House from the 
State, War, and Navy Building is the National Treasury. 
The Treasury Building is one of the finest in the city. 
To see the splendid colonnade on the east is alone worth a 
journey to Washington. From this building all the money 
affairs of the United States government are directed. 











WASHINGTON 


285 


In the Treasury Building and in the Bureau of Engrav¬ 
ing and Printing one may see the entire process of manu¬ 
facturing and issuing paper money. In the Treasury we 
see new bills exchanged for old, worn-out bills, which are 
ground to pieces to destroy forever their value as money. 



BUREAU OF ENGRAVING AND PRINTING, "UNCLE SAM’S 
MONEY FACTORY” 


But to understand the story of a dollar bill or a bill 
of any other value we must visit the Bureau of Engraving 
and Printing. This building, which is some distance from 
the Treasury Building, reminds us of a large printing 
office, and that is just what it is. Here we are shown 
from room to room where many men and women are at 
work, some engraving the plates from which bills are to 















286 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


be printed and others printing the bills. The paper used 
is manufactured by a secret process for United States 
money, and every sheet is most carefully counted at 
every stage of the printing. Altogether the sheets are 
counted fifty-two times. Many clerks are employed to 
keep a careful account of these sheets, and it is almost 
impossible for a single bill or a single piece of paper to 



A CIRCLE AND ITS RADIATING AVENUES 


be lost or stolen. After the money is printed it is put 
into bundles, sealed, and sent in a closely guarded steel 
wagon to the Treasury Building, where it is stored in 
great vaults until it is issued. 

At the Treasury we find the officials sending out these 
crisp new bills in payment of the debts of the United 
States or in exchange for bills which are so tattered and 
torn that they are no longer useful. This exchanging of 
new money for old is a large part of the business of the 








WASHINGTON 


287 


Treasury and calls for the greatest care in counting and 
keeping records, in order that no mistakes may be made. 

After the old bills are counted they are cut in half 
and the halves counted separately, to make sure that 
the first count was correct. When the exact amount of 
money has been determined, new bills are sent out to the 
owners of the old bills, and the old bills are destroyed. 

When we have seen enough of the counting of old 
money, our guide takes us down into the cellar of this 
great building, where we walk along a narrow passage¬ 
way with millions of dollars in gold and silver on either 
hand. All is carefully secured by massive doors and 
locks, and none but trusted officials may enter the vaults 
themselves. These gold and silver coins are made in the 
United States mints in Philadelphia, Denver, New Orleans, 
and San Francisco. 

You see the paper bill is not real money but a sort 
of receipt representing gold and silver money which you 
can get at any time from the Treasury. As we peep 
through the barred doors of the vaults and see great 
piles of canvas sacks, it is interesting to know that some 
of the silver and gold coins they hold are ours, waiting 
here while we carry in our pockets the paper bills which 
represent them. 

In addition to issuing money, the Treasury Department 
has charge of collecting all the taxes and duties which 
furnish the money for the payment of the expenses of 
the government. 

Washington is a government city. Of its population 
of over 880,000, about 86,000 are directly engaged in the 
various departments of the government, while most of the 


288 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


other lines of business thrive by supplying the needs of 
the government’s employees and their families. Very little 
manufacturing is done in the District of Columbia, and 
such articles as are manufactured are chiefly for local use. 

People from almost every country in the world may 
be seen on the streets, for almost all civilized nations 
have ministers or ambassadors at Washington to represent 



CONTINENTAL MEMORIAL HALL 


them in official dealings with the United States. These 
foreign representatives occupy fine homes, and during the 
winter season many brilliant receptions are given by them 
as well as by our own high officials. 

The people of Washington have built fine churches and 
many handsome schools, to which all, from the president 
to the humblest citizen, send their children. In or near 
the city are the five universities of George Washington, 







WASHINGTON 


289 


Georgetown, Howard University for colored people, the 
Catholic University, and the American University, where 
graduates from other colleges take advanced work. 

The citizens of the District of Columbia do not vote 
nor do they make their own laws, as it was feared there 
might be a disagreement between Congress and the city 



ANNEX AND GARDEN OF THE PAN-AMERICAN UNION 


government if people voted on local matters. All laws 
for the District of Columbia are made by the Congress 
of the United States and are carried out by three 
commissioners appointed by the president with the con¬ 
sent of the Senate. Many inhabitants of the District are 
citizens of the states and go to their homes at election 
time to cast their votes. Isn’t it strange that there is a 
place in the United States where the citizens cannot vote ? 








290 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



You are, no doubt, 
beginning to think that 
the places of interest in 
Washington must be very 
numerous. This is true, 
for few cities in the world 
have so many interesting 
public buildings. Among 
these are the Corcoran 
Art Gallery; the Con¬ 
tinental Memorial Hall, 
the majestic marble build¬ 
ing of the Daughters of 
| the American Revolution; 

and the palatial home of 
oq the Pan-American Union, 
o a place where represen¬ 
ts tatives of all the Ameri¬ 
can republics may meet. 
Then there is the Patent 
Office, for recording and 
filing old patents and 
granting new ones; the 
Pension Office, from 
which our war veterans 
receive a certain sum each 
year; the Government 
Printing Office, whose re¬ 
ports require over a mil¬ 
lion dollars’ worth of paper 
each year; Ford’s Theater, 


















WASHINGTON 


291 



where President Lincoln was shot; the naval-gun factory, 
for making the fourteen-inch long-range guns used on our 
battleships; and the Union Railroad Station, whose east wing 
is reserved for the 
use of the president. 

There is one al¬ 
most sacred spot, 
upon which the na¬ 
tion has erected a 
splendid memorial 
to our greatest hero, 

George Washington. 

The Washington 
Monument is a sim¬ 
ple obelisk of white 
marble, that towers 
555 feet above the 
beautiful park in 
the midst of which 
it stands. Those 
openings near the 
top which seem so 
small are 504 feet 
above us and are 
actually large win¬ 
dows. On entering the door at the base of the monument, 
we pass through the wall, which is 15 feet thick, and find 
an elevator ready to carry us to the top. If we prefer to 
walk, there is an interior stairway of 900 steps leading to 
the top landing. At the end of our upward journey we 
find ourselves in a large room with two great windows on 


WASHINGTON MONUMENT FROM CON¬ 
TINENTAL MEMORIAL HALL 






















292 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


each of the four sides. From here we get another view of 
the hill-surrounded city, and the scene which lies before 
us is inspiring. 

The Washington Monument is near the western end of 
the Mall, that series of parks extending from the Capitol 
to the Potomac River. Near by are the buildings of the 
Department of Agriculture, which has been of the great¬ 
est help to the farmers of our land by sending out impor¬ 
tant information concerning almost everything connected 
with farm life. Through the Bureau of Chemistry this 
department did much to bring about the passage of the 
Pure Food Law, which protects the people by forbidding 
the sale of food and drugs that are not pure. 

In the spacious park adjoining the grounds of the 
Department of Agriculture is a building which looks like 
an ancient castle. This is the Smithsonian Institution, 
which carries on scientific work under government control. 

The National Museum, which is under the control of 
the Smithsonian Institution, has a fine building of its own. 
This museum is a perfect treasure house of interesting 
exhibits of all kinds. Here may be seen relics of Wash¬ 
ington, of General Grant, and of other famous Americans; 
and here are exhibits showing the history of the telegraph, 
the telephone, the sewing machine, the automobile, and 
the flying machine. Stuffed animals of all kinds are ar¬ 
ranged to look just as if they were alive. So numerous are 
the exhibits that it would require a large book simply to 
mention them. Many of the boys and girls of Washington 
spend their Saturday afternoons examining the wonderful 
things which have been brought to this museum from all 
parts of the world. 




THE CITY FKOM ARLINGTON HEIGHTS 








294 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 

Washington has also a zoological park where there | 
are animals from everywhere. It is on the banks of a j 
beautiful stream on the outskirts of the city and is part 
of a great public park which covers many acres of pictur¬ 
esque wooded country. 

We must not omit the Post Office Department, for that 
is the part of the federal government which comes nearest 
to our homes. Here are the offices of the postmaster gen¬ 
eral and his many assistants. To tell of the wonders of 
our postal system would be a long story in itself. If all 
the people employed by the Post Office Department lived 
in Washington, they would fill all of the houses and leave 
no room for anyone else. Of course this great army of 
employees are not all hi any one city, for the work of the 
post office extends to every part of the United States, and, 
through arrangement with other nations, to every part of 
the civilized world. 

In the country surrounding the city of Washington are 
several important and interesting places. Just across the 
river, in the state of Virginia, are Fort Myer, an army post, 
and the famous Arlington National Cemetery. Arlington 
was the home of Martha Custis, who became the bride of 
George Washington. At the opening of the Civil War it 
was the home of the famous Confederate general, Robert 
E. Lee. Then it passed into the hands of the United States 
government and is now the burial place of over sixteen 
thousand soldiers who gave their lives for their country. 

On the Virginia shore of the Potomac River, sixteen 
miles south of the city of Washington, is Mount Vernon, 
the home and burial place of George Washington. The 
spacious old mansion in the midst of fine trees and shady 





WASHINGTON 


295 



lawns looks out over the wide peaceful river which Wash¬ 
ington loved. To this home Washington came to live 
shortly after his marriage. He spent his time in farming 
on this estate until he was called to take command of the 
American army. After our independence was won he 
returned to his home and his farm. Once more he was 
called upon to leave this quiet country life to become the 


WASHINGTON’S TOMB 

first president of the new nation. When he had served his 
country two terms he gladly retired to Mount Vernon, 
where he lived until his death in 1799. 

To-day the house and grounds are preserved with lov¬ 
ing care. The rooms of the house are furnished with fine 
old mahogany furniture, many pieces of which belonged 
to Washington. In the grounds, not far from the stately 
mansion, is the simple brick tomb where rest the bodies 
of Washington and his wife. During the years which 













296 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


have passed since his death, thousands of his countrymen 
have come to this tomb to do honor to his memory. 

As we sail up the Potomac toward the city after our 
visit to the home of the great man whose name it bears, 
the Washington Monument, the White House, the State, 
War, and Navy Building, the Capitol, the Library, and 
the post office tower above the surrounding buildings 
and, shining in the golden light of sunset, make a picture 
never to be forgotten. 

This city of parks, of broad avenues, of beautiful build¬ 
ings, belongs to the Americans who live in the far-distant 
states as well as to those who live and work in the capital 
itself. It is our capital and we may justly be proud of it, 
for it is one of the most beautiful cities in all the world. 


WASHINGTON 

FACTS TO REMEMBER 

The capital of the nation. 

Population (1910), nearly 350,000 (331,069). 

Sixteenth city in rank, according to population. 

Center of the federal government of the United States. 
Governed entirely by Congress under provision of the 
Constitution. 

Chief offices of every department of the federal gov¬ 
ernment located here. 

Splendid streets, avenues, parks, and monuments. 

Many magnificent public buildings. 

Very few manufacturing industries. 

A city of homes of government employees. 

One of the most interesting and beautiful cities in the 
world. 






WASHINGTON 


297 


QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND STUDY 

1. Give some reasons why every citizen of the United 
States should be interested in Washington. 

2. What interesting buildings are located here, and for 
what are they used ? 

3. What were some of the reasons for selecting the loca¬ 
tion of the capital city ? 

4. After whom was the city named ? 

5. In what year did Washington become the capital city, 
and what disaster visited it a few years later ? 

6. Describe the plan of the city, and name one of its 
famous streets. 

7. Name three interesting groups of buildings: one on 
Capitol Hill, one on Pennsylvania Avenue, and one in 
the Mall. 

8. What are some of the natural beauties of the city ? 

9. Give some idea of the size and beauty of the Capitol 
and of the imposing ceremony which takes place there every 
four years. 

10. Describe briefly the House of Representatives when 
in session and the duties of its members. 

11. Where does the Supreme Court of the country sit, and 
why is it called the Supreme Court? 

12. How does, the Senate differ from the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives ? What are the duties of senators ? How many 
come from each state ? 

13. Why do we have two lawmaking bodies ? 

14. Name some of the attractions of the Library of Con¬ 
gress. Tell how its books are stacked and how they are sent 
to the Capitol, and give some facts about the copyright law. 

15. Tell what you know of the White House. 




298 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


16. What two fine buildings are on either side of the 
White House, and for what is each used ? 

17. Describe the making of paper money. 

18. What are the duties of the Treasury Department, and 
what may be seen in the Treasury vaults ? 

19. Tell something about the people of Washington, their 
chief occupation, and why so many foreign diplomats have 
their homes here. 

20. How are the city of Washington and the District of 
Columbia governed ? 

21. Name some places of interest in Washington not 
already mentioned. 

22. Describe the splendid monument by which our great¬ 
est hero is honored. 

23. Tell why you would like to visit the Smithsonian 
Institution, the National Museum, and the Zoological Park. 

24. Why are Fort Myer, Arlington, and Mount Vernon 
very interesting to all citizens of the United States ? 

25. To whom does the beautiful city of Washington really 
belong, and why should we be proud of it ? 






REFERENCE TABLES 


LARGEST CITIES OF THE WORLD ACCORDING TO 


POPULATION 


London 
New York 


Rank 

1 

9 


Paris . 
Chicago 
Berlin 


3 

4 


Tokio . 
Vienna 
Petrograd 


6 

7 

8 


Philadelphia. 9 

Moscow.10 

Buenos Ayres.11 

Constantinople.12 


INCREASE IN POPULATION OF OUR GREAT CITIES — 
.NATIONAL CENSUS 


City 

Population 

Rank 

1910 

1900 

1890 

1910 

1900 

1890 

New York . . . 

4,766,883 

3,437,202 

1,515,301 

1 

1 

1 

Chicago .... 

2,185,283 

1,698,575 

1,099,850 

2 

2 

2 

Philadelphia 

1,549,008 

1,293,697 

1,046,964 

3 

3 

3 

St. Louis. . . . 

687,029 

575,238 

451,770 

4 

4 

5 

Boston . 

670,585 

560,892 

448,477 

5 

5 

6 

Cleveland . . . 

560,663 

381,768 

261,353 

6 

7 

10 

Baltimore . . . 

558,485 

508,957 

434,439 

7 

6 

7 

Pittsburgh . 

533,905 

321,616 

238,617 

8 

11 

13 

Detroit .... 

465,766 

285,704 

205,876 

9 

13 

15 

Buffalo .... 

423,715 

352,387 

255,664 

10 

8 

11 

San Francisco . . 

416,912 

342,782 

298,997 

11 

9 

8 

Milwaukee . . . 

373,857 

285,315 

204,468 

12 

14 

16 

Cincinnati . . . 

363,591 

325,902 

296,908 

13 

10 

9 

Newark .... 

347,469 

246,070 

181,830 

14 

16 

17 

New Orleans . . 

339,075 

287,104 

242,039 

15 

12 

12 

W ashington 

331,069 

278,718 

230,392 

16 

15 

14 


299 































300 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


THE FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION OF OUR GREAT CITIES 



Leading Countries of 


Birth of Foreign-Born 

City 

Population —1910 


First 

Second 

Baltimore. 

Germany 

Russia 

Boston. 

Ireland 

Canada 

Buffalo. 

Germany 

Canada 

Chicago. 

Germany 

Austria 

Cincinnati. 

Germany 

Hungary 

Cleveland. 

Austria 

Germany 

Detroit. 

Germany 

Canada 

Jersey City. 

Germany 

Ireland 

Los Angeles. 

Germany 

Canada 

Milwaukee . 

Germany 

Russia 

Minneapolis. 

Sweden 

Norway 

New Orleans . 

Italy 

Germany 

New York . 

Russia 

Italy 

Newark. 

Germany 

Russia 

Philadelphia. 

Russia 

Ireland 

Pittsburgh. 

Germany 

Russia 

St. Louis. 

Germany 

Russia 

San Francisco. 

Germany 

Ireland 

Washington. 

Ireland 

Germany 


SHORTEST RAILWAY TRAVEL —DISTANCE FROM 
NEW YORK CITY 


San Francisco 
New Orleans 
St. Louis 
Chicago . . 

Detroit . . 

Cleveland . 
Pittsburgh . 


3182 miles 
1344 miles 
1059 miles 
908 miles 
690 miles 
576 miles 
441 miles 




























REFERENCE TABLES 


801 


Buffalo. 439 miles 

Boston. 235 miles 

Washington, D.C. 226 miles 

Baltimore. 186 miles 

Philadelphia. 92 miles 


SHORTEST RAILWAY TRAVEL — DISTANCE FROM 
CHICAGO 


San Francisco . 
Boston . . . 

New Orleans . 
New York . . 

Philadelphia 
Baltimore . . 

Washington, 1). C 
Buffalo . . . 

Pittsburgh . . 

Cleveland . . 

St. Louis. . . 

Detroit . . . 


2274 miles 
1021 miles 
923 miles 
908 miles 
818 miles 
797 miles 
787 miles 
523 miles 
468 miles 
339 miles 
286 miles 
272 miles 


TO WHOM WE SELL THE MOST 


The Amount for 1914 


Great Britain 
Germany . 
Canada 
France . . 

Netherlands 
Italy . . 

Cuba . . 

Belgium . 
Japan . . . 

Argentina . 
Mexico . . 


$594,271,863 

$344,794,276 

$344,716,981 

$159,818,924 

$112,215,673 

$74,235,012 

$68,884,428 

$61,219,894 

$51,205,520 

$45,179,089 

$38,748,793 






























302 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


FROM WHOM WE BUY THE MOST 


The Amount for 1914 


Great Britain 
Germany . 
Canada. . 

France . 

Cuba . . 

Japan . 
Brazil . 
Mexico . . 

British India 
Italy . . 


$293,661,304 

$189,919,136 

$160,689,709 

$141,446,252 

$131,303,794 

$107,355,897 

$101,303,794 

$92,690,566 

$73,630,880 

$56,407,671 


















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INDEX 


Abbey, Edwin A., 128 
Adams, John, 84, 87 
Adams, Samuel, 124 
Alameda, 240 
Allegheny, 182, 184 
Allegheny River, 171, 172, 182 

Baldwin, Matthias W., 71 
Baldwin Locomotive Works, 71 
Baltimore, 155-170 
railroad center, 155 
harbor, 155 
industries, 155, 156 
exports, 155 
fire of 1904, 156 
public markets, 160 
settlement of, 167 
Baltimore, Lord, 168 
Barge canal, 212 
Belleville, 98 
Berkeley, 240 
Bienville, Governor, 245 
Blackstone, William, 105 
Boston, 105-136 

capital of Massachusetts, 105 
settlement of, 105 
divisions of, 107 
harbor, 108 
trade center, 119 
foreign commerce, 121 
industries, 121 
Boston Tea Party, 84, 122 
Braddock, 173 
Bradford, William, 73 
Brockton, 119 
Brooklyn, 11, 24, 28, 30 
Brooks, Phillips, 127 
Bruceton, 178 
Buffalo, 207-226 

settlement of, 207, 208 


named, 209 

Erie Canal, 210 

lake port, 211 

importance of location, 212 

trade with Canada, 212 

manufacturing center, 213 

Niagara power, 213, 216, 224-225 

iron industry, 214 

flour mills, 216 

important live-stock market, 217 
important lumber market, 217 
harbor, 221 

Buffalo River, 207, 221 
Bulfinch, Charles, 111 

Cadillac, Antoine de la Mothe, 191 
Calumet River, 56 
Cambridge, 116, 117, 131, 133 
Carnegie, Andrew, 184 
Carnegie Steel Company, 175 
Centennial Exhibition, 75 
Charles River, 116 
Chicago, 41-66, 180 
fire of 1871, 41 
settlement of, 43 
harbor, 45, 56, 57 
becomes a city, 46 
important railroad center, 54 
greatest lake port, 54 
grain market, 55 
steel industry, 56 
largest lumber market, 57 
exports, 57 

center of packing industry, 61 
Pullman, 62 

Chicago drainage and ship canal, 
54 

Chicago River, 41, 43, 45, 53, 54, 
57 

Civil War, 247 


306 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


Cleaveland, General Moses, 137 
Cleveland, 137-154, 180 
settlement of, 137 
harbor, 141 
becomes a city, 142 
industries, 142, 143, 148 
importance of location, 148 
manufacturing center, 148 
largest ore market in the world, 
148 

center of shipbuilding, 148 
important lake port, 153 
Cleveland, Grover, 224 
Clinton, De Witt, 209 
Coal, 56, 70, 100, 142,172, 175, 213, 
214, 215, 257 
Coal mines, 175 

Commerce, foreign, 35, 57, 121, 

931 9*vQ 

Cotton, 257, 258, 261 
Croton River, 18 
Custis, Martha, 294 
Cuyahoga River, 137,138,140,141, 
145 

Declaration of Independence, 8, 85 
Delaware River, 67, 68, 69 
de Portola, Don Gasper, 227 
Des Plaines River, 53 
Detroit, 139, 189-206 
leading port on Canadian shore, 
189, 199 
founded, 191 
early history, 191 
growth, 192 
trade center, 194 
harbor, 195 

shipbuilding industry, 195 
becomes industrial city, 196 
center of automobile trade, 196 
industries, 197 

immense wholesale trade, 198 
railroad center, 200 
Detroit River, 191, 200, 205 
District of Columbia, 267, 288, 289 
Doan, Nathaniel, 139 
Dutch West India Company, 5 

East River, 27, 36 
East St. Louis, 98 


Erie Canal, 9, 193, 209, 210, 212 
Exports, value of, 301 

Fall River, 121 
Farragut, David, 248 
Fillmore, Millard, 224 
Fish industry, 121, 239 
Fitch, John, 72 
Fort Dearborn, 44 
Fort McHenry, 169 
Fort Myer, 294 
Fort Pitt, 171 

Foreign-born population, 300 
Franklin, Benjamin, 73, 84 
French and Indian War, 171, 191, 
245 

Fulton, Robert, 72 

Girard, Stephen, 79 
Gold, 227 

Golden Gate, 231, 241 
Grain industry, 55, 102 
Granite City, 98 
Gunpowder River, 163 

Hale, Edward Everett, 130 
Half Moon, 3 
Hancock, John, 124 
Homestead, 173 
Hudson, Henry, 4 
Hudson River, 4, 30, 35, 36, 207, 
209, 210 

Hull, General William, 192 

Illinois and Michigan Canal, 47 
Illinois River, 47, 53, 93 
Imports, value of, 302 
Increase in population of our great 
cities, 299 

Iron industry, 171, 172, 214, 233 

Jackson, Andrew, 246 
Jefferson, Thomas, 89 

Key, Francis Scott, 169 
Kingsbury, James, 138 
Kinzie, John, 43 

Lackawanna Iron and Steel Com¬ 
pany, 215 






INDEX 


307 


Largest cities in the world, 299 

Lawrence, 121 

Lee, Robert E., 294 

Lewis and Clark expedition, 90 

Louisiana Purchase, 89, 245 

Louisiana Purchase Exposition, 96 

Lowell, 121 

Lumber, 57, 100, 217, 257 
Lynn, 119 

Madison, 98 
Manhattan, 4, 11 
McCall Ferry dam, 163 
McKeesport, 173 
McKinley, William, 224 
Mexican War, 227 
Mints, 81, 82, 237 
Minuit, Peter, 5 

Mississippi River, 47, 89, 91, 96, 
97, 171, 245, 248, 249 
Missouri River, 90, 93 
Mohawk River, 207, 209 
Monongahela River, 171, 172, 182 
Morris, Robert, 75 
Mt. Vernon, 267, 294 

Natural gas, 151, 181, 185, 213 
New Amsterdam, 6, 14 
New Bedford, 121 
New Orleans, 171, 245-264 
early history, 245 
in the War of 1812, 246 
in the Civil War, 247 
building the city, 249 
the French quarter, 251, 252 
the American quarter, 251, 255 
important lumber market, 257 
important cotton market, 258, 
261 

Gulf port, 261 

second export port in America, 
261 

exports, 261 

important sugar market, 257, 261 
Mardi Gras, 263 
New York, 3-40 
settlement of, 4 
surrendered to English, 7 
named, 8 
capital city, 9 


harbor, 9, 36 

becomes Greater New York, 11 
boroughs, 11 

nation’s chief market place, 32 
imports, 32 
exports, 32 

nation’s greatest workshop, 32 
industries, 32 
Niagara Falls, 213, 224 
Niagara River, 190, 191, 209, 212, 
219, 224 

Oakland, 240 
Ohio Canal, 140 

Ohio River, 93, 137, 139, 140, 171, 
172 

Ore, 56, 142, 214 

Packing industry, 59, 61, 101, 217, 
233 

Panama Canal, 233, 242 
Panama-Pacific International Ex¬ 
position, 242 

Pan-American Exposition, 224 
Patapsco River, 168 
Penn, William, 67, 74, 75, 76 
Perry, Oliver Hazard, 192 
Petroleum, 180, 213, 257 
Philadelphia, 67-88, 167 
settlement of, 67 
manufacturing city, 69 
commercial center, 70 
industries, 70 
United States mint, 81 
Continental Congress, 84, 85 
Declaration of Independence 
signed at, 85 
capital of the nation, 87 
Pitt, William, 171 
Pittsburgh, 148, 171-188 
workshop of the world, 171 
named, 171 
trade center, 172 
manufacturing city, 172 
center of steel industry, 173 
industries, 173 
Pittsburgh district, 173 
mines, 175, 177 
petroleum, 180 
natural gas, 181 


308 GREAT CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES 


Pontiac’s conspiracy, 192 
Population of our great cities, 299 
Potomac River, 267, 272, 292 
Pullman, 62 
Puritans, 105 

Quakers, 67 

Railroads, 9, 49, 58, 70, 93, 110, 
142, 150, 200, 211, 213, 238 
Pennsylvania, 30, 150 
New York Central, 32, 110, 150 
Michigan Southern, 49 
Michigan Central, 49, 200 
Missouri Pacific, 93 
Boston & Albany, 110 
Boston & Maine, 110 
New York, New Haven & Hart¬ 
ford, 110 
Nickel Plate, 150 
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago 
& St. Louis, 150 
Erie Railroad, 150 
Baltimore & Ohio, 150 
Wheeling & Lake Erie, 150 
Southern Pacific, 238 
Atchison, Topeka & Santa F6, 
239 

Union Pacific, 239 
Western Pacific, 239 
Revere, Paul, 124 
Revolution, War of the, 8, 75, 111, 
112, 119, 122, 192, 207, 266 
Richmond, 240 

Rogers, Major Robert, 191, 193 
Roosevelt, Theodore, 224 
Ross, Betsy, 86 

Sacramento River, 230 
St. Gaudens, 113, 127 
St. Lawrence River, 190 
St. Louis, 89-104 
frontier village, 89 
trade center, 93 
railroad center, 94 
favorable location, 98 
industries, 100 
distributing center, 102 
fur, grain, and live-stock market, 
102, 103 


San Francisco, 227-244 
early history, 227 
growth of, 227, 228 
" child of the mines,” 228 
San Francisco Bay, 230 
trade center, 231 
exports, 231 
imports, 231 
industries, 233 
United States mint, 237 
leading salmon port, 239 
San Joaquin River, 230 
Sargent, John S., 128 
Sault Ste. Marie, 190 
Saur, Christopher, 73 
Schuylkill River, 68, 75 
Scioto River, 140 
Shaw, Colonel, 113 
Shortest railway routes from 
Chicago, 301 

Shortest railway routes from New 
York, 300 
Silver, 228 

Standard Oil Company, 143 
Steel, 56, 71, 173, 180 
Straits of Mackinac, 190 
Stuyvesant, Peter, 6 
Sugar, 32, 257, 261 
Susquehanna River, 163 

Tlievis, Father, 255 
Tonawanda, 219 
Touro, Judah, 257 
Trumbull, John, 275 

Union Stockyards, 59 
University City, 96 

Venice, 98 

War of 1812, 44, 192, 209, 246, 268 
Washington, 202, 265-298 
the capital city, 265 
location, 265 
story of, 266 

District of Columbia, 267, 288, 
289 

plan of the city, 268 
capitol, 272 

House of Representatives, 277, 
289 


INDEX 


309 


Supreme Court, 279 
Senate, 279, 289 
Library of Congress, 280 
White House, 282 
National Treasury, 284, 286 
Bureau of Engraving and Print¬ 
ing, 285 

Washington Monument, 291 
Post Office Department, 294 
Arlington National Cemetery, 
294 


Washington, George, 8, 84, 87, 119, 
171, 267, 282, 294 
Westinghouse, George, 185 
Westinghouse Electric Company, 
185 

Winne, Cornelius, 207, 208 
Winthrop, John, 105 
Woodward, Augustus B., 202 
World’s Columbian Exposition, 63 

York, Duke of, 7 















































































































